Young artist Rebecca Cassar’s exhibition, titled Enlightenment, consists of 19 works in various mediums on canvas, focusing on the use of colour, texture and 23.5 carat gold leaf, expressing the artist’s recent experience of turmoil and trepidation in her own life.

The exhibition opens on January 5 and can be visited until the January 26 at the Malta Society of Arts’ (MSA) seat, Palazzo de La Salle in Valletta. The title is a reflection on the age of Enlightenment, which brought about an era of rebirth and revolution in all aspects of humanity. For Cassar, the intrinsic scope of the exhibition is to display her own internal rebirth and growth.

Rebecca Cassar

“The reason I am putting up this solo exhibition for the first time is that I felt a strong personal connection to a theme, one which focused on my own personal journey of growth amid a difficult period in my life. Painting for me became a form of escapism, and a way to celebrate life in the face of adversity,” she comments.

“In my mind, emotion is conveyed through colour, and I feel that ultimately colour, light and gold have shone through everything else,” she says.

Another exhibit.

Another of Cassar's paintings.

Another exhibit.

“My colour palette is evocative of the world around me, so blues, greens and yellows feature heavily, sometimes embodying a particular memory or moment from the past year and a half.”

Cassar’s creative process includes periods of experimentation with different media and textures such as acrylic, modelling paste, sand, crackle paste, glue, iridescence and mostly 23.5ct gold leaf.

Enlightenment by Rebecca Cassar is on between January 5 and 26 at the Art Galleries of the Malta Society of Arts, Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta. Entrance is free. For more details about the exhibition visit www.artsmalta.org/events or www.facebook.com/maltasocietyofarts.