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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 DECEMBER 2022 6 ART Exhibition commemorating Frank Portelli's art and life inaugurated at Muza FRANK Portelli (1922-2004), who was a pioneer in the devel- opment of Maltese modern and contemporary art, would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. To commemorate his art and life, Heritage Malta is in- viting the public to an exhibition of some of his artworks, inaugu- rated today in the Camerone at MUŻA and running till the 8th of January. Portelli distinguished himself not only as an artist but equally as an interior designer and a de- signer of murals, postage stamps, posters, and floats and masks for Carnival. For this exhibition, Portelli's family opted to present the artist's multi-faceted career, from early painterly works creat- ed in the 1940s to the last murals designed in the same year that he passed on. Several portraits created by the artist between the 1940s and the early 1950s are on display at the exhibition, some of which are de- picted in a romantic, highly rep- resentative style. In contrast, the exhibit Portrait of Antoine (dated 1951) is in a semi-cubist style, re- flecting the artist's immediate fu- ture approach to painting which marked his first key works. Another section of the exhibi- tion is dedicated to Portelli's Car- nival masks and costumes. The exhibits here include a grotesque mask which complemented the carnival Joyous and is an example of an innovative technique used by Portelli when he introduced aluminium wire and bamboo strips to create the skeleton of the mask. Another important part of the exhibition is dedicated to interior design, where most of the works have never been displayed be- fore. These include commercial sketch designs and elevations for Coleiro Wine Tavern interiors, the Metropole Hotel Tavern and HMS Phoenicia Manoel Island's restaurant, all dated between the late 1950s and the 1960s. An art- ist impression of Astra Theatre Complex, Victoria, is also shown. Portelli's poster and stamp de- signs feature prominently as well. These include the Holy Week (1955) poster, the Malta Tourism (1955) poster and two different bozzettos representing the Eu- ropa '76 Postage Stamp. Draw- ings representing scenography for St Paul's Pageant, held in 1960 at the Empire Stadium in Gżira, may also be admired. Frank Portelli was key to the de- velopment of mural art in Malta. In this commemorative exhibi- tion, visitors have the opportuni- ty to see a series of mural draw- ings, including a full-size drawing of Misericordia (dated 2004) which is Portelli's last unfinished mural. The Triumph of Neptune (dat- ed 1960) is also being exhibited. This was recently acquired by MUŻA and is currently being re- stored by Heritage Malta's Con- servation Department. Two painterly works from the important series Contours form part of this exhibition as well. Personal items owned by the art- ist, including his easels, are also on display.