Paul Cassar marks milestone with personal solo exhibition

Maltese artist Paul Cassar is set to open a new solo exhibition titled 60: A Journey into Colour, Life, Memory and Transcendence, marking both a significant personal milestone and a poignant act of remembrance.

The exhibition is running at the art gallery within Creative Expressions, Żejtun, and runs until February 9.

60 commemorates Cassar’s 60th birthday while also being dedicated to the memory of his elder brother Joseph, who was also 60 at the time of his passing. Central to this tribute is the portrait Remembering Joseph (il-Kuċċ) My Brother 2025 – a vivid and expressive work that captures Joseph’s cheerful spirit and love of music through Cassar’s distinctive visual language.

Frequency of Love, 2024

The exhibition emerges from a profoundly difficult period in the artist’s life. Within the space of a year Cassar lost not only his brother but also both of his parents. This experience of grief has led to a noticeable evolution in his work with themes of transcendence, eternity and the afterlife now taking centre stage. As art critic Katya Glanville Vella observes, “60 showcases Paul Cassar’s poetical imagination and emotional honesty. It is a moving synthesis of his technical mastery, philosophical contemplation and sheer passion for colour.”

A defining feature of the exhibition is its strict format – all paintings measure 60 x 60 centimetres. The repeated dimensions serve as a symbolic reference to both brothers’ 60th year while also creating a cohesive and striking visual rhythm throughout the exhibition space.

Several works explore explicitly transcendental themes including Timeless Bridge, Reaching Eternal and Eternal Echoes, which reflect Cassar’s growing preoccupation with souls, the afterlife and the possibility of connections between earthly and spiritual realms.

Harmony Equilibrium, 2024

This direction builds upon his long-standing fascination with the cosmos and vastness beyond human experience, seen previously in works such as Until the End of Time, now extended into meditations on eternity. Glanville Vella notes that Cassar’s work “shows an artist grappling with life, loss, renewal and the nature of eternity in a pivotal moment of his life.”

Cassar’s signature use of vivid colour, abstract forms and intense light is once again evident. Notably, this body of work introduces a stronger presence of gold and golden-yellow tones, particularly in paintings such as Timeless Bridge, Melody from Roman Cave is Coming…, Eternal Symphonic Energy (2024) and Time Melange. Drawing on the symbolism of Byzantine art, where gold represents divine light and heavenly glory, these hues reinforce the exhibition’s spiritual and other-worldly undertones.

Looking over an Edge of a Dream, 2024

The organic motifs that frequently appear in Cassar’s work – spirals, growth and renewal – also return, now linked more explicitly to the cycle of the soul and the afterlife. The Tree of Life, a symbol of continuity and eternal connection, features prominently in Tree of a Child into Eternal Soul. Other works such as Eternal Nexus Ocean to Cosmos bridge the immensity of the universe with the life-filled vastness of the sea while Chromatic Awakening offers an imaginative reinterpretation of plant life, evoking a contemplative and reflective serenity.

Alongside abstract compositions, the exhibition includes abstracted seascapes and landscapes such as Seas of Mystery as well as more traditional landscapes. Cassar’s self-portrait is once again expected to be a highlight, reflecting the introspection of an artist who is equally a poet on canvas and on the written page.

Glanville Vella concludes, “Paul Cassar’s latest works reveal a deeply personal and philosophical journey, combining technical brilliance with an emotional honesty that is both striking and moving.”

60: A Journey into Colour, Life, Memory and Transcendence is taking place at the art gallery within Creative Expressions, Bishop Emmanuel Galea Street, Żejtun, and runs until February 9.