Candid and yet veiled

There was a time when I was so obsessed with quotations that I wanted to include one in everything I wrote.

Although that short but intense phase is a thing of the past I could not help looking for a good quote about potters and ceramists for this piece. The following one by the American writer John Updike fits the bill about ceramist George Muscat: "You cannot help but learn more as you take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is an old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it".

Viewing Mr Muscat's work at Ir-Razzett l-Antik Restaurant, in Qormi, the visitor cannot help but feel intrigued by the manner in which the ceramist puts 1,001 thumbprints on each of his works.

With his infusion of colours and complex designs, he creates a world that recalls the mysteries of the sea, the cosmic world, the enigmatic megalithic temples, the innuendos of the Johari Window and the tormented world of artists as they struggle to come up with fresh ideas.

Made up of four panels, the Johari Window divides personal awareness into four different types: what is open, hidden, blind, and unknown about ourselves.

In this sense, the artist opens a window onto a world he wants the viewer to see and, yet, there are shades of the ceramist's character and soul that are shielded from his and our eyes.

The strength of this vibrant exhibition lies in the fact that the viewer will be challenged to see where the meaning of life lies as he searches for that elusive meaning.

A quotation from the ancient Greek biographer Plutarch will perhaps hold a clue to this eternal search: "No man ever wetted clay and then left it, as if there would be bricks by chance and fortune".

Mr Muscat's ceramics may be viewed at Ir-Razzett l-Antik Restaurant Monday to Saturday from 8 p.m.