Nicholas Grima, curator of the exhibition Runinenlust, speaks to Lara Zammit about the four artists currently adorning the Green Shutters Art Space.

Ruinenlust is a site-specific exhibition at the Green Shutters Art Space in Floriana, organised by The Lily Agius Gallery in partnership with Kixott Cultural Centre, which includes artworks by four locally- based international artists, namely Arnaud Griggio, Zvezdan Reljić, Madeleine Fenwick and Julien Vinet.

The location, once a bar, holds a central role in the dynamics of the exhibition, serving both as a point of outreach to the community and as an element informing and influencing the artworks within it.

Nicholas Grima, speaking about the exhibition in relation to the Green Shutters Art Space, said that the space itself, while influencing the pieces on display and informing their respective meanings, cannot be considered as another exhibit among others.

“The space itself informs the artists in myriad ways but I’m inclined to resist the notion that the space itself is ‘another exhibit’. The space itself was the product of a fortuitous opportunity, one that the artists, being suitably inspired by the space itself, took hold of.

The Big Bushy Tree by Arnaud Griggio

“In this particular case, I believe that the intuitive sensibilities and the spirit of collaboration the artists brought to the project were what defined the exhibits’ level of integration with the space. There was a great deal of communal ‘feeling out’ of both the physical as well as conceptual space. This I believe, is the main reason why the exhibition has such a high level of harmony between the exhibits and the space,” explained Grima.

The principle of collaboration is integral to the ethos of this exhibition, both between the artists on display, the artworks and the site, and the exhibition with the community. Speaking about how the aspect of collaboration permeates this exhibition, Grima said that collaboration is the defining characteristic of Ruinenlust.

Collaboration is integral to the ethos of this exhibition

“There was a conscious effort on the part of the artists to achieve this. So much so that my very inclusion into the project in a curatorial capacity was specifically to help gel and facilitate this aspect. The artists seemed to intuitively feel the need to have an external arbiter to mediate their different sensibilities.” Grima noted that each artist brings to bear substantial differences in attitude and sensibility.

The Seed by Madeleine Fenwick

“Starting with Vinet, his passion and enthusiastic extroversion is omnipresent in his work. The strong intent within his abstracts are rife with a sensual appreciation of the process itself. However, his work is not just fruit of raw emotive response, upon questioning him one quickly discovers that there is a strong conceptual underpinning.

“Interestingly, Vinet is loath to put any of this forward explicitly though, as he prefers to impart as little of his preconceptions to his audience, instead preferring to let them navigate his work in as honest a way as possible,” said Grima.

Moving on to Griggio’s works, Grima noted his attitude of quiet observation.

“Griggio’s work echoes this since the audience finds itself drawn into a peaceful state of observation as they explore his work. There is a high degree of introspective thought found within his chosen subjects – a keen eye focusing on the unseen world all around us that was there all along.”

500 Ways to Shower, Table 483 by Zvezdan Reljić

Grima described Fenwick’s work as both varied and thought-provoking. “Much of what we see is but the surface of the depth of thought underpinning her work,” he said.

“Inviting her sensibilities through a veneer of meditative speculation, her work emerges as action and reaction to the process itself. Thoughtful and delicate interventions permeate the work itself, sometimes present as strong abstract movements while in others as features or details that are more explicit to her thought process. She preoccupies herself with how her subconscious intuitions affect her work and actively works to give it space to emerge.”

Finally, Grima described Reljić as “primarily an intuitive artist buttressed by his impeccable technical prowess”.

“Each artwork comes as the fruit of an obsessive attention to detail mixed in with a genuine spirit of exploration. The ideas and concepts start off as visceral musings, unclear but alluring. This in turn is taken into his darkroom where the meticulous process of uncovering the artwork happens. “

Runinenlust is showing at the Green Shutters Art Space until July 24. Meet the artists on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 4 to 8pm or by appointment. For more info or the catalogue call 9929 2488 or email info@lilyagiusgallery.com.