Landscapes in watercolour
Mark Geoffrey Muscat (b. 1986) is showcasing a new collection of watercolours of land and seascapes in what is his third solo exhibition.
His first solo exhibition was held in 2011 at the Auberge d’Italie, Valletta, while his second exhibition was held in 2017 at the University of Malta’s Valletta campus, while his participation in collective exhibitions has been consistent since his first one held in 2007.
The current exhibition, titled Untitled, comprises of 24 watercolours executed in a landscape format that perfectly encapsulates Muscat’s style and technique, one that has matured over the 16 years in which he has exhibited his work.
Each painting portrays a landscape in which Malta and Gozo feature emphatically. A bright palette remains a consistent feature of Muscat’s paintings with colours; however, a more subdued palette also features in this collection of paintings. Yellow is seen prominently in the capturing of the Maltese limestone and soil, and an array of blues for the sea and sky.
Earth and cold colours feature prominently, as do the black pen and a black wash that is a recurring feature in Muscat’s work, here visible, for instance, in Marsa-xlokk. And the striking RedTower, or St Agatha’s Tower in Mellieħa, is captured from a bird’s-eye view, towering over Mellieħa Bay in what is an idyllic scene where buildings are selectively rendered with drawn lines, and a quick wash of paint adds the necessary colour to the composition.
Another work that is evocative of Muscat’s style and that carries his characteristic calligraphic quality, is St Paul’s Chapel, the prominent church in San Pawl tat-Tarġa. This image is captured in swift lines and brushstrokes where the turbulent sky blends with the tree on the right. Muscat here manages not only to capture an urban image, but an atmosphere and mood. The atmosphere he captures is also quite diversified in other paintings. The mood can be serene or more temperamental, as can be seen in the skies, and it is also reflected in the palette.
This is another characteristic of his watercolours that are executed in a loose and fluid, wet-on-wet technique. This allaprimatechnique is testament to a confident hand at work. His experience allows his hand to quickly move across the paper support, achieving freshness of execution. This watercolour technique allows no room for error whilst also being exploited by Muscat to capture the desired atmosphere, such as in DaħletQorrot. And some watercolours, like this just mentioned, intently evoke a more serene disposition than others.
Even though these scenes are revisited by many, Muscat has a unique way of portraying them. Capturing a pretty landscape is not on Muscat’s mind, although
“Each painting portrays a landscape in which Malta and Gozo feature emphatically
some of the islands’ most iconic landscapes do feature, even if in most of the paintings, some views are more easily recognisable than others, such as Malta’s fortifications and the Blue Lagoon. Seascapes, rural landscapes and the harbour also make an appearance, as does the grand square in Ortigia, Sicily.
A less serene and quickly executed picture features the Sliema front with two cranes hovering above the medium-rise buildings that are close to the shore. Many would consider cranes to be an eyesore and would question why an artist would choose to portray something that does not contribute to making the picture pretty or more desirable. This is a commentary that most artists sensitive to their natural and built environment like Muscat, are eager to make. This is even more significant for Muscat, who is an architect by profession.
As an artist and architect, Muscat absorbs the natural and built environment around him, but when it comes to his compositions, he selects what is most important in order to make that particular composition the most effective and evocative it can ever be. This is why some paintings are less detailed than others. He is a discerning artist.
Having been brought up in an artistic environment, Muscat himself showed a talent for art at a tender age. He received a varied artistic education in Malta and abroad. He studied architectural photography at the PolitecnicoDiMilano under the tutorship of Professor Marco Introini and pursued painting lessons under the late Harry Alden, Winston Hassall and Jessica DeBattista, as well as Anton Grech at the University of Malta. Having read for a degree at the University of Malta in Architectural and Civil Engineering, specialising in architectural design, Muscat later furthered his studies abroad, where he obtained a master’s degree at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.
His experience in the fields of art and architecture provides his oeuvre with a unique timbre and a resulting bold aesthetic that resonates with many.