Over the last few years, artist Wallace Falzon has emerged from nowhere as one of the noteworthy artists on the local art scene. His sculptures can now be recognised as distinctively his, with their unique Giacometti-style crude elongated figures or his autobiographical paintings showing his physical or mental anguish at events he passed through in his professional life.
His use of found objects within his sculptures or the integration of same in his paintings has become a common feature, as have the unusual angles or point of view for his large canvases. Yet Falzon remains an eclectic artist searching for his own way of doing things, not resting at one source or content at a formula that has worked for his works of art in the past.
In his current exhibition at Gemelli Art Gallery in Ta’ Qali, Falzon presents a foretaste of the past artistic persona and a glimpse of what to expect in the future. Falzon is still at an experimental stage with his sculptures. This does not mean that these are not accomplished works. It probably shows his character of wanting to try his hand at various possibilities until he finds the right path which suits him best. I have already alluded to his Giacometti influence in his sculptures, something we have seen in his past exhibitions, and which are also present in this one.
Fortitude, 2024In this exhibition, we are now also seeing two other options, one of which I suspect we will see more in the future. The first is the slick minimalistic ironworks, as in Adam And Eve: The Byte Of Wisdom, a pun on the story of creation in Genesis and the global influential company with the same name; whilst the second are a number of figurative works in a cubist style.
Adam and Eve: The Byte of Wisdom, 2024The paintings on show may be divided vaguely into three subject areas.
The first are sea and landscapes of Malta and Gozo. Here the artist interprets these with vibrant highly effective colours from a different vantage point, either with a low field of view, as in the case of Red Tower, or from a bird’s-eye view as in Red Bay or Under the Moon.
Red Tower, 2024
Red Bay, 2023
Sea Garden, 2021
The second group of paintings includes a number of self-portraits in which I would also include the autobiographical works that still haunt the artist, and a few abstract works which seem to complement the style of Falzon’s overall paintings. I particularly like the one where the artist paints in reverse on a glass pane and then uses a rough wooden panel as background.
The final group of paintings have a Neolithic subject matter attached to them with the inner sanctum of the Hypogeum, or the standing or seated fat lady.
Fat Lady with Stilettos, 2017Needless to say, Falzon is a very prolific artist, and, in this oeuvre, we are seeing but a few selections from his many works. In a visit to his studio, I had the opportunity of viewing some of his productions in progress.
Some of these works, which are not part of the exhibition as they form part of the artist’s university project, consist of massive sculptures, which leads me to believe that in the very near future we shall see yet another facet of Falzon’s take on sculpture. But this for another time.
COVID, 2024Despite the fact that in this exhibition we are seeing a number of paintings and sculptures in different media and styles, the totality of the whole exhibition does not jar, as one would expect when too many different works of art and styles mingle together. Indeed, there is a very common trait, and I do believe that the title of the exhibition, Distinctiveness, appropriately captures the spirit of the works on show. A visit is recommended.
The exhibition, curated by Lawrence Pavia, opened at Gemelli Art Gallery in Ta' Qali on September 4 and will run until September 20. It is open between 7am and 2.30pm on weekdays and between 9am and noon on Saturdays.