Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545412
8 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 17 JUNE 2026 CULTURE French artist Eric Kaiser unveils Reflecting Surfaces in Malta FRENCH artist Eric Kaiser presents Reflecting Surfaces, a new body of work that explores the shifting relationship be- tween portraiture and still life through a series of psychologi- cally charged paintings infused with colour, humour, and sub- tle theatricality. Developed during the final months of the artist's stay in Malta before his departure in September, the exhibition can be understood as both a med- itation and a farewell. Over the past four years, Malta has become a key site of transfor- mation in Kaiser's artistic prac- tice, and this exhibition brings together many of the visual and conceptual concerns that have emerged during this period. At first glance, the works ap- pear divided into two distinct groups: portraits of predom- inantly male figures and still lifes centred on polished silver jugs and domestic objects. Yet the exhibition gradually reveals that these subjects operate within the same emotional and pictorial register. Kaiser delib- erately dissolves the traditional boundaries between the human figure and the object world. His portraits possess an object-like stillness, while the still lifes seem animated by an almost psychological presence. The title itself contains a sub- tle play on words, with "sur- faces" quietly evoking "faces", reinforcing the exhibition's continuous dialogue between human presence and reflective objects. Faces become surfaces to be read, while reflective ves- sels begin to assume psycho- logical and emotional qualities traditionally associated with portraiture. The figures themselves are marked by introspection. Their expressions are restrained and often detached, rendered in highly unnatural colour pal- ettes of electric blues, cool greys, olive greens, and warm ochres. These chromatic de- cisions are not decorative, but deeply structural. Colour be- comes a vehicle for atmosphere and emotional ambiguity rath- er than realism. Faces appear withdrawn into states of con- templation, silence, or suspen- sion. Yet alongside this seriousness lies an unmistakable playful- ness. Patterned backgrounds echo geometric textiles, wall- papers, or stage sets, introduc- ing rhythm and visual wit into the portraits. Likewise, the still lifes incorporate intentional- ly mundane and contempo- rary objects: electrical plugs, toys, fruit, cloths, and kitchen utensils coexist with reflective metal vessels traditionally as- sociated with academic still- life painting. A toy figurine sprawled beside a silver jug or the absurdly tactile presence of a plastic plug introduces mo- ments of irony and tenderness into compositions that might other- wise risk auster- ity. This dia- logue with the history of still life is central to the exhibi- tion. Histori- cally considered a "lesser" genre within academic hi- erarchies, still life painting was long regarded as inferior to portraiture or grand historical subjects. Yet over centuries, it evolved into one of the most sophisticated arenas for artistic experimentation and observa- tion. Today, still life remains the foundation of academic ar- tistic training: the place where artists learn to see light, vol- ume, texture, and spatial rela- tionships. Kaiser embraces this lineage whilst simultaneous- ly unsettling it. His reflective jugs distort their surroundings, fragment colour and form, and suggest unseen spaces beyond the canvas. The objects do not merely sit before us; they seem to watch, absorb, and remem- ber. Particularly significant with- in the exhibition is Kaiser's self-portrait, the only major portrait detached from the patterned backgrounds that dominate the other figurative works. Positioned almost as a quiet culmination of the se- ries, the painting possesses a striking clarity and vulnerabil- ity. Surrounded by a luminous circular form reminiscent of both halo and spotlight, the artist confronts the viewer di- rectly. It functions not only as a self-image, but as a reflection on presence, departure, and ar- tistic identity at the close of an important chapter. In Reflecting Surfaces, noth- ing remains entirely fixed. Surfaces mirror and distort si- multaneously. Objects acquire emotional weight, while figures become strangely sculptural and distant. Kaiser invites view- ers into a world where looking itself becomes unstable, poetic, and deeply reflective. The exhibition is open throughout June 2026 in the Palm Court Lounge at The Phoenicia Malta.