The Malta Independent on Sunday
Making a splash at Gallery 23
J.M.W. Turner was regarded by his contemporaries primarily as a marine painter. He frequented ports and coastal parts, relished sailing in storms, was immune to seasickness and famously had himself lashed to the mast to experience the full force of the gale before painting one of his most controversial paintings.
More than half of Turner’s pictures were of the sea. He took up the challenge presented by the depiction of the ever-changing sea and of the elements in a big way. ***
Walking into Gallery 23 for the launch of To the Lighthouse, Alexia Coppini’s latest exhibition, I was met with a variety of paintings of the sea in different moods but thankfully not a luzzu or a dghajsa in sight. ***
In the words of Dr Antonio Espinosa Rodrigues, the art historian, who gave us a most interesting introduction to the exhibition: “Alexia Coppini’s ethos here presents fantastic seascapes and ethereal skies through nature’s variegated moods. The tranquillity of calm days and the upsurge of mighty waves, all expressed through a limpid and clear palette, the result of dexterous artistry and powerful brush-strokes with lyrical tonal values akin to nature and its spiritual unblemished environment. Humanity, however, appears to intervene through its civilising power in the form of the lighthouse which somehow mitigates the forces of nature, rendering a guiding light of hope and solace.” ***
The title of the exhibition was inspired by Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse. Dr Espinosa Rodrigues said that the theme unwittingly touched upon elements close to his heart: Art, history, the sea and a combination of Maltese and Spanish culture.
He went on to relate the story of a Spanish nobleman who in 1825 was forced into exile in Livorno where he lived with his wife. “He had bravely fought for the liberation of his country (Spain) from foreign occupation.” But events did not go well and in Livorno the authorities ordered his expulsion. “The only means available for him to leave was a Maltese speronara named ‘Assunta’ ready to set sail for Malta. Thus the Duque de Rivas embarked on an unexpected trip to Malta. ***
“The voyage proved ominous,” the speaker told us. “The boat encountered a terrible gale (or should I say Grigalata) and at times the speronara appeared on the point of floundering. In desperation the crew resorted to prayers. But suddenly, lo and behold , they shouted ‘ Malta! Malta!’ They had just spotted the lofty lighthouse atop Fort St Elmo at the tip of Valletta.” They were safe at last. ***
Dr Espinosa quoted, in Spanish, a poem the Duque De Rivas had written – El Faro de Malta – during his five-year stay in Malta where two of his sons were born. “Malta and the sea around inspired him to write beautiful verses in praise of the island and the Maltese, prompting him to state his wish to die in Malta should it not be possible for him to return to his beloved Cordoba.” *** This was Alexia’s 22nd solo exhibition. “This exhibition “continues my passion for painting the sea in all its forms, inspired originally by the name of Virginia Woolf’s famous novel. Whilst five of the paintings actually depict a lighthouse, it is easy to imagine the presence of a lighthouse in most of the paintings, hidden or about to appear, guiding mariners or warning them of danger,” she told her audience.
The common thread in Alexia’s paintings is representations of big skies and vast seas. They evoke a sense of the spiritual as well as the fluid nature of the sea.
Gifted and energetic she presented two paintings, a seascape and an abstract, to the Board of the Royal Academy of Arts in London for inclusion in their yearly Summer Exhibition. Apart from receiving important commissions in Malta and exporting many of her paintings she has also travelled to Holland to paint large murals.
In July 2019 she was invited to exhibit five of her seascapes in the Anton Schranz exhibition in Ochsenhausen, Germany. ***
In 1997 at the Royal Academy which was hosting an exhibition, Sensation, two shocked members of the public attacked a large picture of Myra Hindley’s face. Now you may remember that she was one of the two murderers who tortured and killed several children then buried them on the Yorkshire Moors.
One, Jacques Role threw eggs at ‘Myra’ saying: “There is a limit when an artist profits in terms of fame or money from the death or torture of children.”
One of the mothers of Hindley’s victims appeared on a picket line outside Burlington House the venue for temporary exhibitions from the Royal Academy.
A certain Peter Fisher threw ink over the portrait. He did so because he believed he was ‘taking a stand’ against a picture which was ‘glorifying the crimes of a monster.’ As he was jumped on by guards he shouted, ‘You are all idiots to pay for this.’
I couldn’t agree more. I am often astonished at what passes for art especially abroad and which is bought at absurdly high prices.
Sensation with its dead animals, porno shots alongside the Virgin Mary and a portrait of a murderer upset many.
The artists saw all these as acts of vandalism. But do the promoters and producers of provocative art have a right to complain when people are provoked and react with eggs, ink, protests or petitions?
I mention this because it is such a relief to attend an exhibition in a townhouse which has been beautifully restored and rest your eyes on beauty and paintings of the familiar and much loved sea which surrounds us.
Most of the paintings on view are exceptionally accomplished. And many are so enchanting that you will take away the experience of them as a beguiling memory.