Who is Maltese artist MARIO ZAMMIT-LEWIS?
Mario Zammit-Lewis (Marsaskala, Malta – 1949) was born in Msida, Malta. He moved to Turin, Italy in 1963 as a teenager. He started painting at 16 and took part in exhibitions while studying at the Liceo Artistico Vittorio Veneto under master painter Raffaele Pontecorvo.
His first personal exhibition was in 1970, followed by another in 1971, both held in Turin. In 1979, he received a gold medal from the Italian academy and in 1982 he was named Maestro di Pittura in Salsomaggiore Terme. He then went on to take part in exhibits around the world. After a break, he took to painting again in the year 2000 when he was in Hong Kong and again in 2011 while living in the Philippines. In 2015, he moved back to Malta and has been doing oil paintings ever since. In 2020, he entered various competitions: the Premio Guglielmo II, in Parlemo, in the Monreale Museum (he finished 2nd out of 680 artists) and other competitions in Rome, Budapest, Florence, Parma, Luxembourg (2019 and 2020) and New York. In October 2020, he published his biography, available in 3 languages.
His work has been published in magazines such as Il Narciso, TUTTARTE and Artes in 1972, Il Centauro in 1982 and in all the editions of ARTNOW from March 2020 to August 2021. He also appeared in Art LEADER – A guide for art investment by Angelo Crespi as well as various newspapers both in Italy and Malta. Many of his paintings can be found around the world. He was featured on ODEON TV in their segment “Storie di Artisti” with comments by Leonarda Zappulla. He was also selected by Ms Zappulla and Vittorio Sgarbi to be among the 50 artists that will be featured on ART TV in the segment “I NARRATORI del nostro TEMPO”, commented by Vittorio Sgarbi and available for a year on the app. The artwork presented in the programme will be published in an exceptional book. Because of COVID restrictions, he published 6 videos featuring his personal work, both on Facebook and Youtube. In May 2021 he took part in an exhibition in Palermo and in the Premio Caravaggio competition in Cesenatico. At the same time, one of his paintings was presented in an art gallery in Paris. In June, he entered the Premio Michelangelo competition in Rome. On June 15th, his trilogy on Dante Alighieri was hung up at the Italian Institute of Culture in Valletta, Malta where they will be available to see until September 15th. The trilogy was painting to commemorate the 700-year anniversary of Dante’s death. It depicts Hell, the Purgatory and Paradise and it appeared on Maltese channel NET TV in the “Life & Style” programme, presented by Lea Hogg. In July, the painting representing Hell was shown through video projection in Florence, Italy for the 700-year celebrations as well as at the Festival Cultura Identità Arte Viva in Casale Monferrato.
In July and August, in took part in the Biannual in Cesenatico. From July 2nd to July 7th, 3 of his paintings were presented in a Gallery Area Contesa Art in Via Margutta in Rome. 10 of his paintings were also shown during a virtual exhibit from July 10th to August 10th during the “Varraggio 2021” in Varazze, Italy. On August 7th, he travelled to Venice to receive the “Leone d’Oro” trophy. He is currently part of the 8th edition of the BIANCOSCURO contest in Monte-Carlo as well as the Oscar Della Creatività that will be held on October 16th 2021 also in Monte-Carlo. He took part in the “Premio ECCELLENZE STILISTICHE 2021 – Sguardi sull’Arte Contemporanea”. From July 30th to October 15th 2021, his work will be featured at the FEUDO San Giorio, in Valle di Susa, nel Piemonte. That exhibition happens exactly 50 years after his first personal exhibition in Turin at the Hotel Alessandria, back in 1971. The exhibition was featured in RETESETTE TV on August 16th, 2021. Leonarda Zappulla will also publish him with 4 pages in ARTISTI22 distributed by MONDADORI in cooperation of ARTNOW. FROM 29 Octobre to 1st Novembre he has been asked to be present with his oil painting 60x80cm “S d’O RIP” at the Premio Int.le Isabella d’Este in Ferrara with the presents of V. Sgarbi. 1st November to 31 Decembre 2021 Video exhibition DREAM WORLD true MSA (Malta Society of Art) as he is a member.In January 2022, if Covid permits, his work will be featured in a personal exhibition at the entrance of the Maltese Parliament, in Valletta, the one designed by Renzo Piano. Other projects await for 2022 both in Europe and in Asia.