The Malta International Contemporary Arts Space (MICAS) is hosting a major, newly commissioned sculpture by the late, celebrated Maltese artist Ray Pitrè, to be permanently and prominently positioned within the campus as part of its permanent collection.

Pitrè’s final work, Figure in Rods (2024), was inaugurated yesterday, January 9. Originating from a mixed media assemblage first conceived in 1969 during one of Malta’s aggressive building booms, the work is a powerful exploration of psychological confinement.

Alongside the sculpture’s inauguration, a temporary exhibition of works by Pitrè, curated by the Washington-based Maltese art historian Joseph Paul Cassar,  also opened on January 9.

Cassar, a leading expert on modern and contemporary Maltese art, will deliver a talk exploring Figure in Rods on January 11.

The event is fully booked but will be live-streamed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/micasmalta.

“MICAS consulted closely with Pitrè on the bronze rendering of Figure in Rods and its permanent position on the museum’s campus. We are pleased that his exact wishes for its realisation and placement have been honoured, and we are only saddened that he did not live long enough to witness its inauguration,” Edith Devaney, MICAS artistic director, said.

“To visitors to MICAS, this poignant piece encapsulates an unparalleled ability to explore profound psychological and emotional themes, and will be a constant reminder of and testament to Pitrè’s achievement.”

MICAS executive chairperson Phyllis Muscat said the commissioning and permanent placement of Figure in Rods both celebrates the artistic legacy of one of Malta’s finest artists, and underlines MICAS’s mission to bring Maltese art and artists into conversation with an international artistic community.

The Ray Pitrè exhibition will feature a display of drawings, paintings and a smaller sculpture by Pitrè relating to Figure In Rods. It is being held on the museum’s fourth-floor space.