IMprint biennial exhibition of original prints

iMprint Malta is presenting iMprint iv – Grafika: Of Form and Image, a collective exhibition featuring the works of 30 artists. The recently inaugurated 2019 exhibition, which launches the iMprint series’ biennial format, is being held at the Malta Society of Arts in Valletta.

The iMprint initiative was conceived and founded by artist Jesmond Vassallo in 2013, with the aim of spreading awareness and appreciation of original printmaking as an artistic medium in its own right. iMprint focuses exclusively on showcasing prints produced in the intaglio tradition, one of the four principal printmaking techniques. The exhibition’s new biennial format is a result of the collective effort of artists/printmakers Lino Borg and Justin Falzon together with Vassallo.

Grafika: Of Form and Image is curated by Dr Christian Attard. According to Attard, this year’s exhibition explores the idea of the printed impression as the direct consequence of sets of opposites, which include planning, discipline, and precision in contrast with spontaneity, experimentation, and play. The intaglio printmaking artistic procedure is both systematic and accidental, resulting in each print being singular from its limited-edition print siblings.

The 2019 edition of iMprint presents a selection of intaglio prints by the highly respected late artists Frank Portelli and Horst Janssen, along with 28 esteemed Malta- and Gozo-based contemporary artists. These participants are Antoine Paul Camilleri, Austin Camilleri, Catherine Cavallo, Carmen Aquilina, Eman Grima, Irene Zammit, Isabelle Borg, Jesmond Vassallo, John Vassallo, Jonathan Galea, Joseph

Galea, Joseph Mallia, Joseph Paul Cassar, Justin Falzon, Kevin Ellul, Lewis Zammit, Lino Borg, Matthew Attard, Mike Ross, Olaug Vethal, Pawl Carbonaro, Raphael Vella, Richard Saliba, Robyn Smith, Robert Zahra, Roderick Camilleri, Sue Flask, and Vince Briffa.

Grafika: Of Form and Image opens with the works of Frank Portelli (1922-2004), an important figure of the pre- and post-World War II Maltese art scene. The prints on show vary in theme, from the religious to the melancholic and self-portraiture. Portelli executes a precise chiaroscuro effect which combines with the atmospheric, sketchy element of his art.

The second and third rooms of the Upper Galleries feature the works of the 28 contemporary artists, including the late Isabelle Borg and Olaug Vethal. Themes range from the figurative to landscapes, the abstract, and death, among others.

In the fourth and fifth exhibition rooms, visitors can view prints by the inimitable German artist Horst Janssen. Janssen (19291995) is viewed as an avant-garde of his time whose unconventional upbringing and non-conformist ideologies bore a profound influence on his art. The works exhibited explore elements of the morbid, the erotic, and self-portraiture.

Grafika: Of Form and Image provides visitors the opportunity to appreciate the poetry of the intaglio technique. Although considered a niche art form, its richness and diversity are here highlighted by the various techniques utilised by the participating artists.

The iMprint curatorial team was supported by researcher Krystle Attard Trevisan and assistant curator Marisabelle Grech. An 86-page exhibition catalogue to mark the occasion is available for purchase. Location: Upper

Galleries, Malta Society of Arts, Republic Street, Valletta

Duration: 7 November - 30 November

Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 8am 7pm & Saturdays: 9am

12:30pm

‘Egyptian Temple’ by Frank Portelli 1930s

‘Lirium larum series’ by Horst Janssen