Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1219206
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MARCH 2020 7 CULTURE ART ITALIAN-BORN but Malta-based art- ist Lucio Dubini opened his exhibition 'Memories from Mars' at the Art Gal- leries of the Malta Society of Arts last Thursday. His first solo show, the exhibi- tion is the culmination of a long journey of self-discovery and also the materiali- sation of his childhood dreams of exhib- iting his work as an artist. 'Memories from Mars' feature large, colourful and playful acrylic works with 'more defined shapes than previous works'. This shift in style mainly re- flects the changes which the artist went through in his personal life, which in turn led to his works evolving to a differ- ent dimension. Asked to comment about his style, Du- bini explains: "I do abstract art because it's the most natural way for me to ma- terialise my feelings, experiences and images into visual art. Through abstract art I feel unrestricted by rigid aesthetic standards and my feelings are free to fly and to almost touch the universe. For me abstract art is pure expression. The inspiration comes from what sur- rounds me. Through my art, I re-elabo- rate the world that I'm seeing, the experi- ences that I'm doing and the feelings that I have. Then I transform them into lines, shapes, colours. Each day has something to say to me and my art starts from there. What I like is that each viewer can travel inside my paintings and each time can find new places." The exhibition is curated by Roderick Camilleri who guided the artist through various discussions and studio visits, to develop new paths related to abstrac- tion. "This process gave birth to this new visual content stimulated by a form of lyrical aesthetics which takes a lot from the simplicity and creative freedom of children. This is one of the dominant features which marks this series of art works. We also decided to call the exhibition Mem- ories from Mars – to tease out spontane- ity and playful imagination of this par- ticular exhibition". Dubini is inspired by such artists as Jean Michel Basquiat, Emilio Vedo- va, Hans Hartung, Nicolas de Stael and Lucio Fontana and viewers might catch glimpses of these artists in his works. He enjoys feeling and touching his art, so he often paints directly with his hands, but also makes use of other tools such as a rag, a spatula or the more traditional brush. Although he loves to experiment with new materials, his main medium is acrylic paint. 'Memories from Mars' by Lucio Dubini opened on Thursday 5 March at the Art Galleries of Palazzo de La Salle in Val- letta. The exhibition can be visited during the Malta Society of Arts' opening hours: Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm, and Sat- urdays 9am to 1:30pm. Entrance is free. Italian artist exhibiting in Malta for the first time Malta-based Lucio Dubini exhibiting large-scale abstract paintings in the acrylics medium at the Art Galleries of the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta Italian-born but Malta-based artist Lucio Dubini opened his exhibition 'Memories from Mars' at the Art Galleries of the Malta Society of Arts on Thursday