The Malta Independent on Sunday
Casa Antonia to display paintings by artist and maestro Pawlu Grech
A selection of paintings by Chevalier Maestro Pawlu Grech is due to be exhibited at Casa Antonia Nursing and Residential Home in Balzan. The exhibition, entitled REST-ROSPECTION and curated by Amanda Tabone will be officially opened on Thursday 7 June, a public holiday, at 10.30am during the home’s Open Day to mark its 15th anniversary.
Throughout his extensive artistic career, Pawlu Grech has achieved recognition both as a musician, composer, and visual artist. In his paintings, he has managed to weave music into abstract art. His works include mixed media, gouache, pencil drawings, oil pastel and watercolours. Several of his works are today in private collections both in Malta and abroad.
Born in Valletta in 1938, Pawlu Grech was awarded a scholarship at the age of 16 to study at the prestigious Conservatorio Santa Cecilia, where he spent 10 years winning acclaim for his remarkable talent, manifested in the originality of his early compositions. While in Rome, he further his studies in painting at the former Scuola Galli. In 1964, after having obtained his piano diploma two years earlier, he was awarded a scholarship to further his training in orchestral conducting and composition in London, which a year later earned him the Ricordi prize for conducting in 1965 and an invitation by London BBC Radio 3 to conduct the English Chamber Orchestra in 1968. He also pursued his musical interest in composition under the tutorship of the famed Austrian musicologist Hans Keller. Many of his compositions were broadcast in London, Italy and Germany between the late 1970s and 1980s.
Meanwhile his career in painting also flourished during his stay in London. His works were exhibited in the halls of the Yehudi Menuhin School at Cobham in Surrey. Moreover, the prestigious exhibition ‘In Praise of Small Format in Contemporary Art’, which was held at the Centre Culturel Christiane Peugeot in Paris, also featured Grech’s paintings. In Malta, he participated in several collective and solo exhibitions, while his works have been featured in a number of publications.
In 1986, after a long absence of nearly 32 years, Pawlu Grech returned to Malta where he continued to play an active role in both music and painting. In 2000, his long and successful artistic career was crowned with the title Chevalier Académique by the directors of the Accademia Internazionale Greci-Marino Accademia del Verbano di lettere, arti, scienze of Vinzaglio in Italy.
Casa Antonia Nursing and Residential Home is opening its doors on 7 June for the public to visit the home and meet the dedicated nursing team. There will be a number of entertaining activities ranging from music and art to artisan stands and food stalls. “Holding an exhibition of one of our residents’ work is an example of how we encourage active ageing and encourage our residents to remain a re- source to society and to life within the home while they are living here. We hope that this exhibition by Pawlu Grech will be an enriching experience for our visitors,” said Dr Sarah Cassar, General Manager at Casa Antonia.
The paintings exhibition will run till 7 July and it can be viewed at Casa Antonia, Pope Alexander VII Junction, Balzan, between 10am and 7pm.
During the Open Day, complimentary refreshments will be offered in the courtyard as well as free parking will be available at the Primary School of St Aloysius College (former Stella Maris School), with a free shuttle service. For enquiries one can call on 21496277.