JA: The focus of this exhibition is on Maltese architecture and idyllic habitats, almost empty of people and hustle and bustle. Being an architect, in what ways do you find the Maltese urban landscape, with its vernacular idiosyncrasies, worthy of inspiration? What particular characteristics of it stand out?

RBJ: As a child, I grew up under the powerful sun in the desert of Arizona, not dissimilar to the Maltese sun. I love how the light reflects and filters into the canyon-like spaces – be it the golden limestone streets of Mdina and Valletta or the dappled light through tall green canopies and reflections on the water, which also remind me of my hometown Aarhus in Denmark.

Niche in Green’, Robert Samut hall, Floriana

On canvas, the Maltese islands have the best of these worlds combined – yet it is unfortunately, year by year, being lost to greedy construction, noise, pollution and a car-driven infrastructure. My paintings focus on the beauty in the hope that the positive energy can bring about a change of mindset for the good.

You mention that this collection portrays urban spaces often void of people. The human figure also has a beauty and a landscape of its own, one which I capture in life figure drawing and portrait sessions. When it is a key part of the composition, I also include the people who inhabit and experience beauty in urban spaces.

Arcade Ensemble

Usually, the human figure is small in respect of the other compositional elements, and the idea of the painting is mainly using the motive to explore colour, light and emotion rather than showing all details.

The paintings titled Ensemble exhibited at the Phoenicia Malta start as a conversing group of friends clustered together in the arcades of St Anne’s Street, Floriana. The theatrical space is illuminated in a green light from beyond, and from canvas to canvas the scenographic composition is abstracted into a dreamy space that could be, future or past.

Balcony Facing Green

JA: Your paintings are celebrations of colour; the palette is slightly reminiscent of the artists of the German expressionist Blue Rider Movement, especially that of August Macke. One of the Danish artists that comes to my mind when mentioning Denmark is Per Kirkeby whose palette is subdued, maybe reflecting the atmospheric conditions of the country. Has our bleak and glaring sun changed your palette over the course of time, or has it always been this bright and exuberant?

RBJ: I find that painting is about expression and energy. Back in 1997, I published a watercolour book in Finland depicting architecture of the town of Vaasa. Even though watercolour can often be subdued, I would paint en plein air sometimes at dusk experimenting with colour splashes and emphasising the colours in the shadows. The first time I came to Malta in the summer heatwave of 1998 staying at Manoel Island, I recall the heat subconsciously pushing towards strong warm colours and the impression of Valletta lit up like a dragon burnt into my mind.

I find beauty and inspiration in old as well as new, people as well as landscapes; bustling cities as well as quiet towns

Later, in Malta, I worked with the somewhat toxic yet powerful enamel paints on timber, then the buttery yet slow drying oil paint often for portraits or alla prima, where my physical movement and energy is captured through thick brushstrokes across large canvases. The acrylic paint used in this exhibition has the quality and workability of both watercolour and oil – with the added plus of being fast-drying, so multiple layers and depth can be developed in bursts without losing the energy and emotion I seek in the painting.

Bastion in Pink, Guardiola

JA: Which artists do you find most inspirational?

RBJ: Layering process creating depth and freedom of the brush of Danish Per Kirkeby; reflected colours in ‘the green stripe’ and playful collages of Matisse; the experimental drive and evolution of Picasso; Constructivist sculptures by Tatlin; dappled and pixilated light of Monet and Van Gogh; contrast and compositions of Caravaggio; futuristic sketches of Lebbeus Woods; blurred sketches of Giacometti; anatomy drawings of Leonardo; creases of cloth in large-scale sculpture installations by Christo; energetic graffiti of Basquiat; almost tangible light in installations and sky spaces of Donald Judd; watercolour concept sketches of Stephen Holl; and the fuzzy edges between colour surfaces of Rothko.

View from Manoel Island, 1998

‘Dappled’, Argotti Gardens and Sarria Church

City in the Fields : Mdina from Mtarfa

JA: You have given special attention in this exhibition to Floriana and its environs and Lija, one of Malta’s quaintest villages, the latter being where you currently live. Floriana, being Valletta’s suburb and maybe thankfully always in the shadow of the capital city, hasn’t been overwhelmed by business and chaos, while some parts of Lija still exude that laid-back old-world charm. Is this exhibition a celebration of the remnants of old Malta that are sadly losing their battle against bad taste and ruthless overdevelopment?

RBJ: I find beauty and inspiration in old as well as new, people as well as landscapes; bustling cities as well as quiet towns – it is when it becomes inhumane, short-sighted and destructive that we need to battle against overdevelopment. Yes, in the exhibition Green City, the paintings celebrate the spaces that are still green in Malta and seek to inspire to make Malta even greener. 

In a subliminal way, the exhibition conveys an important urgent message: We can choose to make Malta green.

Green City: From Floriana to Mdina, curated by Charlene Vella and hosted at The Phoenicia, Floriana, is on until August 31.