Searching for the 'white box'

BPC International Ltd is renowned for being one of Malta's leading marketing and communications agency. As part of the celebrations connected to their 50th anniversary, however, their operations have been extended beyond the realms with which they are customarily associated.

A couple of months ago, BPC unveiled their new corporate identity, yet the opening of a small art gallery and the setting-up of a temporary exhibition, is further testimony to the agency's growth and direction, as well as the need and want to express the values and beliefs which intimately relate to creativity.

The exhibition includes works chiefly executed between the 1960s and 1970s by some 15 or 16 different artists, such as Gabriel Caruana, Emvin Cremona, Marco Cremona, Pawl Carbonaro, George Fenech, Victor Diacono, Andrew Diacono and Harry Alden just to mention a few.

Recently, guardian.co.uk carried a piece titled: Private Collections Aren't Lost; They're Just Not Ours. This article ultimately questioned the nature of privately owned works of art and whether they could, effectively, be considered as public property or even as national treasures.

Therefore, when collectors extend their private collections towards a temporary show, the public is given both the insight and the opportunity to view the personal tastes and collecting trends of any given collector. The anonymity of an otherwise "faceless" collection of works of art is therefore exposed. This is quite a noble gesture in actual fact, seeing as most collectors tend to be "jealous" and rather protective of their collections.

A representative selection of 22 works of art will be on exhibit as of next Monday, in the "purposely arranged minimalist gallery" found adjacent to BPC's main building in Ħamrun. This exhibition is therefore a showcase of some of the paintings and sculptures which BPC have acquired over the years for their private collection.

Visual artist Anton Grech was largely responsible for the transformation of the original space - now housing the gallery - into one which comes closest or most akin to the typical "white box" associated with the necessities attached to the display of contemporary art.

The relatively low space is void of most distractions. Even the windows have been altered in a way to allow light to enter the gallery yet simultaneously prevent visitors from extending their sights beyond and outside the exhibition space.

The only "alien" objects in all of the space are a clear glass square table, a black leather and chrome armchair and a number of fans, buzzing and humming away softly in the stillness of the gallery.

At this point some might question the reasons behind the "analysis" of the space itself in relation to the exhibition. All too often when viewing an exhibition, we forget that all present details and elements have a role in the overall interpretation of the works of art. Explanatory panels, hanging boards, captions, or even the omission of any of the above all make an unconscious statement which we are more often than not, not aware of. The space itself should be complementary to the exhibits, the height at which the paintings are hung should be adequate, plinths and sculptures should not be cumbersome but should allow an "in the round" viewing, and visitors should not strain to look at the work.

The stillness of the ambience and the stark white walls provide the excellent backdrop and surrounding for the works of art which find no other elements competing for the "attention" they require. Visitors may thus focus fully on interpreting the selected pieces which have been chosen with the specifications of the gallery in mind.

In fact, the exhibition has also been curated by Mr Grech; meaning that he has chosen which works to include in this exhibition as well as deciding on the distribution, "grouping" and hanging (or other) arrangements of these works.

Mr Grech has, in fact, quite astutely grouped the works of art together, but not in accordance to any chronological or historical sequence. He has rather used the respective visual strength of the individual works in accordance with their chromatic qualities.

On entering the gallery, the first two works that attract or rather command one's attention are those by Emvin and Marco Cremona. Emvin's abstract glass-works never cease to intrigue and fascinate me; his work also stands out in sharp (pun unintended) contrast to Marco's, which is more tame and subtle by comparison. Yet this is chiefly due to the chromatic tones and qualities of one work which find harsh competition to the bass-relief-like, multi-textured qualities of Emvin Cremona's work.

Luciano Micallef's work and one of Gabriel Caruana's works, entitled Concetto in Spazio have also been paired to a similar effect. I can't help thinking that Mr Grech purposely chose to place some paintings alongside others, or segregated them completely in order to further enhance the disparities, difference in technique, mode of colour application, subject matter or other.

The work of Wojtech Brockdorff, which I had only seen in the Out Of Print exhibition held last year at the Auberge d'Italie, came as somewhat of a surprise; both works are strong, and the composition of the works is seemingly uncalculated yet decidedly balanced.

The exhibition and the gallery space mark part of an ongoing awareness of contemporary Maltese culture and the visual arts. Although there is currently no modern or contemporary art museum and artists are in constant search and need for an adequate space, new waves of change are slowly creeping and seeping into the Maltese fabric.

Hopefully this new gallery space will provide new possibilities for artists in search of the timely "white-box".

• The gallery and the exhibition will be open for a fortnight from Monday. Opening hours are: weekdays between 3.30 and 7.00 p.m. and Saturdays between 9.30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Entrance is free of charge.