Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/887355
maltatoday SUNDAY 15 OCTOBER 2017 This Week 33 What is the significance of Giuseppe Galea's trajectory as an artist, and what are some of the main reasons why he should be remembered and commemorated as an artist in Malta at this point in time? Each Mdina Biennale under my direction and with the fascinat- ing Mdina Biennale Group has to bridge/link contemporary art with what was happening before. We are trying our best to re-define the concept of a 'Biennale' by trans- forming the 'commercial' agency oriented of other Biennales into a hub of artistic creativity, and sometime even a collective artistic action. So every edition concen- trates on a couple of masters of time past and juxtaposes these as a bridge onto what is happening to- day. At the same time an exciting element is when one 'discovers' an aspect which was for a long time by-passed or even forgotten. Thus for example, Galea was and still is recognised as one of the most im- portant decorative-church artists. However his non-Church works were quite unknown. Much more unknown and completely forgot- ten were his works/drawings as a student in Rome and his artistic relations with Sciortino. In a modest way, we are trying to re-ignite this debate within today's scene. How do you hope that this exhibition will help to bring into focus some of his work for a modern audience, and how would you say it fits into the remit of the Mdina Biennale as a whole? As I said above, the main objec- tive of the Mdina Biennale is to create a much needed public and artistic debate. As artistic director my main aim is not solely to "bring into focus some of his work" but to bring his works into focus within and juxtaposed with works of the present time. I would like to add here that whereas we are introducing the Mdina Biennale with Galea's works we will be 'ending' this discussion with other masters such as Frank Portelli and Esprit Barthet. We are sort of creating a mosaic around contemporary art. Thirty contem- porary international artists juxta- posed to Galea's Nudes, Portelli's Ressurections and Barthet's Roof- tops. What is it about Galea's nudes in particular that brings out his unique talent? Is there anything in particular about them that distinguishes his works from that of his contemporaries? His works reflect the academic discipline of the era under discus- sion. This is just a small 'sample' of the beauty of discipline as under- stood and defined in the 1930s. How would you describe the evolution of the Mdina Biennale over the years, and what's in store for this year? Together with a continuous dis- cussion amongst all members of my wonderful group, I always try my best to create a different ap- proach from that of the previous edition. One may call this a dialec- tical approach, a challenge against one's own previous approach. So this time we accepted projects from a limited number of artists so that they could exploit and challenge space, the permanent exhibition at the Museum and the whole set-up. It is important to add how en- riching the bridging with the Uni- versity's 'Arts' and 'Fine Arts De- partment' is. I would also like to underline the beautiful 'openness' the Mdina Cathedral Museum is creating for our further develop- ment of this now internationally recognised event. Thanks to Dun Edgar and Mons Deguara, Mari- ella, amongst others. What would you make of the local visual arts scene at the moment? What would you change about it? My first reaction to this ques- tion was to remain silent and just say "no comment", and live hap- pily ever after, hence. On second thoughts, I thought that such a re- ply goes against my philosophy, so the reply to this question is disas- ter. What would I change? The arts scene's people in power. WHAT'S ON The silent biennale returns [ Artist and curator Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about the next edition of the Mdina Biennale, which is taking place at the 'Silent City' from November 13 to January 7 and carrying the subtitle of 'The Mediterranean: A Sea of Conflicting Spiritualities'. But first, Schembri Bonaci fills us in on an exhibition of nudes by Giuseppe Galea – an early satellite event for the Biennale Participating artists at the Mdina Biennale We will have... Anthony Catania, Guy Ferrer (France), Robert Stokowy (Germany), Patric Pantin (France), James Hardy (UK), Ha- nia Farrell (Lebanon), Lena Lapshina (Austria), Genia Chef (Rus- sia-Germany), Savina Capecci (Italy), Renay Elle Morris (US), Sina Micallef Farrugia, Antoine Farrugia, Vincent Come (France), Anna Caterina Pereira (Portugal), Yael Toren (Izrael), Michael Von Cube (Germany), Darren Tanti, Clint Calleya, Sephora Baldacchino, Jo- seph Agius, Maria Kaleta (Poland), Gor Chahal (Russia), Merna Liddawi (Jordan), Aina Putnina (Latvia), Aleko Lomadze (Geor- gia), Zita Vilutyte (Lithuania), Thomas Chung (Australia), Dushka Malesevic (Serbia), Esmeralda Kosmatopuulos (Greece) and Nicola Arkell (UK). The Mdina Biennale will be taking place from November 13 to January 7 across various venues in Mdina, while the Giuseppe Galea exhibition will be on display at the Mdina Cathedral Mu- seum until October 31 Nudes by Giuseppe Galea Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci