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11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 AUGUST 2025 INTERVIEW the visual arts' Caruana had to settle for teach- ing posts that did not befit his prodigious talent. "Artists like Caruana mastered an idiom that accompanied them from begin- ning to end. That iconic authen- ticity kept him from falling vic- tim to society commissions… at some cost." In this deification of the artistic struggle, Grech is an evangelist for the rudimentary formation of artists who can create some- thing original, which is why he believes in greater national in- vestment, and institutions like MICAS, to further the visual arts. "Artistic formation from the hands of professional artists, and the osmosis of creativity through peers, is like a protective girdle; of course, there's a lot to be said about character – whether one believes in themselves or not – because you cannot sprout a flower under the canopy of greater artists… after mastering the fundamentals, young artists must find their own patch of the garden." But Grech says even the gen- eral public can learn to discern who an accomplished artist is in the morass of attention-seeking and performative contemporary arts. "That inner struggle artists have to contend with, is a jour- ney in which they finally find their language – the apex of their expression – and it leaves be- hind a legible crescendo," Grech says; breadcrumbs for the rest of us, helping us read this voyage to artistic maturity. Not so those who turn their nose up at artistic formation, Grech quips. "Young artists must be faced with professional criticism, which is why institu- tions need professional artists and contemporary learned crit- ics who can stem the tempta- tion of crass imitation." Marcel Duchamp's Fountain – the por- celain urinal 'turned art by the artist's choice' – and the arro- gance of just pointing at some- thing to call it art, easily gets Grech's dander up. "The venom of sensationalist art is like weed- killer, leaving behind a cemetery of artists who are trying to earn a living, because suddenly a mon- ster is spawned and steals peo- ple's attentions." For Grech makes no secret of the gulf that exists between art that is rooted in informed skill, and anything else. "Ultimately drawing is rea- soning. For someone to create an original form, to materialise what they visualise in mind, and to not copy precisely what they see or imitate – is to be capable of transmitting what they per- ceive, graphically. And it is this kind of engagement – the artist's growth and development – that we must discern in their work." In a footballing analogy, Grech feels a lot of Maltese 'Messis' have lost out on their profes- sional development because of a paucity of opportunities. "I am too conscious of the fact that the wrong type of education and policies, make it impossi- ble to nurture the talent around us professionally… so if we talk about professionalising Maltese football teams for example, the aim is arguably to reach a foot- balling standard that takes us head-to-head with the European leagues." Grech believes that moment of 'professionalisation' has also ar- rived for art in Malta. "MICAS is that example," he says. "The dam has broken." On one hand, he says MICAS has understood the thirst of the Maltese public that wants to see international art on our shores. "Consider that not once in a hundred years of British colo- nisation or neighbourly Italian friendship, have we ever been loaned a De Chirico, a Morandi, a Henry Moore or a Francis Ba- con… surely enough none of our historic palazzi were designed to exhibit a painting on high stand- ards. And now we have MICAS. Malta can realise now what it has been missing out on all these decades." This is also why Grech's vast 3-metre canvasses today can en- joy the long-yearned generosity of space and light, thanks to MI- CAS's Galleries. Grech also sets much store by the contribution of MICAS's artistic director, Edith Devaney, who for 20 years was senior cu- rator at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, curating exhibi- tions by Jasper Johns and David Hockney among many greats. "MICAS struck gold with the choice of Devaney, because her experience and expertise, and her encounters with Malta's talented art world, have raised the standard – we are no longer playing around in a small pool. There's a leak, and the water is flowing out into the ocean," Grech says, believing the inter- national energy MICAS attracts is what makes Maltese artists raise their game. "Malta has never taken as se- riously the development of contemporary art as it is doing today. Where could we have lo- cated the identity of the Maltese artist in all these past decades, except for the church paintings and portrait commissions, or as teachers of art in government institutions. "These heavy shackles plagued many an artist," Grech says. "The provinciality and conserv- atism of island life suffocated many creative geniuses and their artistic liberty… it has been a se- rious predicament for those who struggle to create art." Now he says Malta should not shy away from intensifying its investment in contemporary artistic development, and start trusting its finest practitioners in leading the way, and not simply deploy the technocrats to hand out government funds willy-nil- ly. "I wholeheartedly believe in professional training… the mas- ters who understands where genius lies, who knows how the power of early talents can be channelled. But if the game is all about merely funding applicants for grants, then it's pen-pushers calling the shots. Talent before bullshit – that's my maxim." "The provinciality and conservatism of island life suffocated many creative geniuses and their artistic liberty… it has been a serious predicament for those who struggle to create art."