Stqarrija bil-Malti Agħfas Hawn / Press Release in Maltese Click Here
Frank Portelli (1922-2004), who was a pioneer in the development of Maltese modern and contemporary art, would have celebrated his 100th birthday this year. To commemorate his art and life, Heritage Malta is inviting the public to an exhibition of some of his artworks, inaugurated today in the Camerone at MUŻA and running till the 8th of January.
Portelli distinguished himself not only as an artist but equally as an interior designer and a designer of murals, postage stamps, posters, and floats and masks for Carnival. For this exhibition, Portelli’s family opted to present the artist’s multi-faceted career, from early painterly works created in the 1940s to the last murals designed in the same year that he passed on.
Several portraits created by the artist between the 1940s and the early 1950s are on display at the exhibition, some of which are depicted in a romantic, highly representative style. In contrast, the exhibit Portrait of Antoine (dated 1951) is in a semi-cubist style, reflecting the artist’s immediate future approach to painting which marked his first key works.
Another section of the exhibition is dedicated to Portelli’s Carnival masks and costumes. The exhibits here include a grotesque mask which complemented the carnival Joyous and is an example of an innovative technique used by Portelli when he introduced aluminium wire and bamboo strips to create the skeleton of the mask.
Another important part of the exhibition is dedicated to interior design, where most of the works have never been displayed before. These include commercial sketch designs and elevations for Coleiro Wine Tavern interiors, the Metropole Hotel Tavern and HMS Phoenicia Manoel Island’s restaurant, all dated between the late 1950s and the 1960s. An artist impression of Astra Theatre Complex, Victoria, is also shown.
Portelli’s poster and stamp designs feature prominently as well. These include the Holy Week (1955) poster, the Malta Tourism(1955) poster and two different bozzettos representing the Europa ’76 Postage Stamp. Drawings representing scenography for St Paul’s Pageant, held in 1960 at the Empire Stadium in Gżira, may also be admired.
Frank Portelli was key to the development of mural art in Malta. In this commemorative exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to see a series of mural drawings, including a full-size drawing of Misericordia (dated 2004)which is Portelli’slast unfinished mural. The Triumph of Neptune(dated 1960)is also being exhibited. This was recently acquired by MUŻA and is currently being restored by Heritage Malta’s Conservation Department.
Two painterly works from the important seriesContoursform part of this exhibition as well. Personal items owned by the artist, including his easels, are also on display.
A discussion dedicated to Frank Portelli will be held at MUŻA on the 16th of December.
