Richard Saliba, Abstract 9St James Cavalier in Valletta has, as of late, been rebranded as Spazju Kreattiv. It is still serving the purpose it set out to achieve the year it opened its doors in 2000, and for the visual arts, it still offers Malta’s foremost exhibition spaces.
The barrel-vaulted space previously known as the Lower Galleries, is now Space A. Recently, Space A hosted an intimate collective exhibition of prints by local artists – although truly we should be referring to them in this instance as printmakers, given that this exhibition highlights their output in this technique.
Although belonging to different generations, none of these artists is new to the artistic scene, nor to printmaking. These artists are Pawl Carbonaro, Luciano Micallef, Richard Saliba, Lino Borg, Robert Zahra, Justin Falzon and Jesmond Vassallo. It is Vassallo who brought these artists together on this occasion and other occasions, for this is not the first exhibition of prints he organised. iMprint is the third showcase of prints following those successfully held at Palazzo de Piro in 2014 (Printcycle i) and at the Wignacourt Museum in 2015 (Printcycle ii).
We tend to overlook how difficult it is to create one single print and this is why each one is a work of art in its own right
While they all practise this art in their private studios, Falzon also teaches printmaking at the School of Art in Gozo, while Borg has admirably for years been associated with the printmaking class at the School of Art in Valletta, willingly sharing his knowledge on the subject with unfaltering energy.
This small exhibition showcased one or two prints – some of which recently executed, while dating back to 1985 – by each artist. The works were clearly careful selected and tastefully displayed.
Why prints, some may ask. The process of printmaking is long and arduous and requires patience and skill. Printmaking is certainly not a minor art form. We tend to overlook how difficult it is to create one single print and this is why each one is a work of art in its own right. And, as I have already said in the past, it is fascinating to witness.
Printmakers in the west owe a great deal for the printing press to Johannes Gutenberg, who around 1440, created his own printing system. The impact on literacy and the diffusion of artistic styles was immediately immense. Like manuscripts and books, prints were instrumental in diffusing new artistic ideas quickly among artists active in different countries.
Dürer, for instance, immediately recognised the uniqueness and value of prints. He successfully sold prints alongside his paintings since they were more affordable and targeted a different audience. Moreover, his wife, Agnes, sold his prints at fairs, greatly increasing their income.
And printing has been popular ever since. It is interesting to note how artists transpose their painterly compositions into prints, maintaining their style in this medium. Borg, for instance brings this age-old tradition to 2016 by portraying his semi-clad female figure while texting. While this is a figural work, others are non-representational and interesting for a variety of reasons.
Printmaking requires specific equipment that can often seldom be found locally. One must also bear in mind that an artist must produce a printed image from a negative: that is, he is to mirror the image he wants to present as the final product.
While it may be easy to associate printing with mass production, prints in this sense are anything but mass produced
Moreover, this exhibition made it clear that printing in art can be executed in myriad ways: printing from metal plates, the lithographic screen for silk screen printing, or lithographic stone for lithography, for instance.
While it may be easy to associate printing with mass production, prints in this sense are anything but mass produced. The varied noble techniques of printmaking deserve a lot of respect from the audience. The exhibition set out to give “dignity to the work of the printmaker”, which it certainly has managed to do. The exhibition was, in itself, also informative and was accompanied by a short video that presented the process of printmaking and activities. There were also gallery talks by Vassallo, who discussed the different printing techniques.