James Vella Clark is a Maltese artist previously best-known for his expressionist landscapes, cubist tendencies, and squares of colour reminiscent of Paul Klee. In recent years, he has taken an increasingly abstracted approach which you can see in a new collection of work at Form’s showroom in Msida.

Themed New Forms, the exhibition is a collaboration with Form, with the works envisaged for this space from the outset, which has given Vella Clark both the opportunity to think big and the chance to present his latest work in a ‘home’ environment.

Artist James Vella Clark. Photo: Rene Rossignaud

Among Form’s carefully considered elegance and style, Vella Clark’s spontaneous loose compositions, his broad brushstrokes and flowing free-spirited colours are a contrast and a delight. Strolling through the spacious “rooms”, it’s easy to envisage Vella Clark’s works on your own walls.

In slim frames which add definition, his colours soften the straight lines and geometric forms of furniture, add sizzle to the neutral sofa sets, and transform plain white walls from bland to characterful. Equally they’d nuzzle harmoniously on golden stone.

Vella Clark uses an expressive palette that is bold without being harsh: a jungle of foliage greens, yellows, gold and orange are predominant, with pink, red and blue adding reminders of the sea, touches of drama, and an explicit winter cool. Using thick layers of enamel paint which he mixes before applying them to the brush, there is very little mixing on the canvas itself.

From a starting point of what colours will go together, Vella Clark paints intuitively rather than making conscious decisions, freezing specific moments in time. He is largely driven by his emotions and it is important to him to capture the sense of urgency he feels in life, his energy, and the idea that time runs fast. 

Abstract

“My mind races with so many possibilities to explore. I want to communicate to people that there is nothing to understand in abstract art – it either speaks to you or it doesn’t and that’s OK.

“Viewers can make up their own story. And the same painting can speak to different people in a different way. I can never see my own paintings through another person’s eyes, but I am hoping to evoke an emotional response: ultimately, that’s what art is all about, generating feelings in those who experience it.”

Interestingly, while I see the home as constrained by function from which these paintings provide a window into the imagination, the possible and the impossible, James sees a clear parallel between the newfound freedom in his art and the freedom we enjoy in our homes.

Viewers can make up their own story

“It’s within our homes that we can genuinely be ourselves,” he adds.

Aranjuez

Of the 17 paintings on show, Vella Clark particularly loves Garden in the Sun in which a strong orange sings with vibrant greens. “For me, orange is symbolic of hope and happiness,” he explains. “I have used lots of orange that’s reminiscent of the autumn and of the earth.”

Another of Vella Clark’s favourites, and the largest piece in the show at 250cm x 150cm, is the show-stopping Aranjuez. It was named after a passionate concerto for classical guitar by the Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo, to which James was listening before and whilst he worked on this painting. “It’s a piece that takes me back to my childhood,” he smiles.

“My grandfather used to play it to me on vinyl and even today I have his speakers in my Valletta studio – they still give an amazing sound.”

Sunday at Emil’s

Just as the concerto evokes scenic beauty and stirs the emotions through rich melodies and vibrant orchestrations, the harmonious colours and brush-strokes dance playfully across the canvas.

A second music-inspired piece, No One Knows We’re Dancing, is named after a chilled-out track by Everything But The Girl and reflects its 1980s synch and soulful vocals in blocky style, with fashionable nearly-neon pinks and, once again, bold orange.

Alongside, Sunday at Emil’s is shades of pumpkin with a patch of intriguing rainbow stripes and an emphatic periwinkle blue – a pool, I wonder?

 “I use the title of each piece only as a point of departure for the viewer, explains James. “I want to give them the freedom to go anywhere, with their own impressions.”

Garden in Summer

With these suggestions in mind for me, La Danse, rich with the reds of passion or even anger, speaks of flamenco and a Mediterranean warmth; The Beach, a very yellow painting, has a corner of blue evoking sky and sea, and Palm Tree, now a staple in James’ landscapes as a symbol of human resilience, perhaps acts as an ode to his previous work from which his abstracts have evolved.

However, as each of these pieces simply serves as a starting point for the viewer’s imagination, one of the joys of abstract paintings like Vella Clark’s New Forms is not only embracing your own thoughts and emotions: it’s also hearing the responses of your companion(s) to the same work.

Therefore, rather than simply heading to Msida all by yourself, I recommend you take a friend or two.

New Forms at Form, Msida, runs until January 2024.