It has been a while since I last published a post on my blog. I have lately decided to revamp this space and update my followers with the latest news about my art projects. After my recent successful exhibition at Art..e Gallery in Victoria I have been busy with a number of commissioned works, one of which will end up in a prominent place in Malta. Details about this will follow soon. April will be a busy month. This week I have been invited to participate in 'Sqaqien', a fusion of culture and cuisine in the alleys of San Lawrenz. This event will be held on Saturday evening  (April 5). I highly recommend this event following last year's successful debute.    I will be showcasing my work  and working live on a painting in one of these alleys. You are most welcome to visit, see me at work and observe a collection of works on display :-) Last but not least, throughout this month,  a collection of abstract glazed earthenware will be on show at the Japan Expo, through invitation by the Malta Crafts Foundation. 

Aħmar formed part of a series of abstract works created by Christopher Saliba for the 2006 exhibition Of Time and Timelessness. These works were considered by the artist as a personal interpretation of the way memories and emotions are evoked by light, space, texture and colour.

“I paint energy and essence and my work is about time. I interpret memory by fragmenting my canvas into geometrical shapes, each of which is treated as an individual experience or memory in time.” Saliba lays down layers of colour on his canvasses representing the passage of time. From a distance, broad bands of colour, create a strong statement. Close up, the viewer finds textures and markings that continue to engage the eye. The artist rubbed and scraped away layers of paint to reveal different surfaces on the canvas, which may be compared to the way objects found in nature are worn away by the elements and the passage of time.

His paintings may be viewed as being either structurally built, or intuitive, spontaneous and impulsive. “There is the idea of accident,” explained Saliba, “the balance between the order and unpredicted facts.” Accidental and unintended happenings throughout the working process reflect the fact that the passage of memory is not simply chronological, linear or rational. The work narrates nothing but its own story.

Whilst the works differ from Rothko in painterly technique, Rothko’s idea that “a painting is not about an experience. It is an experience” is apt when viewing the work Aħmar by Saliba.
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The text above is an extract from www.kreattivita.org.

Credits to Laura Swale for the article published on the Sunday Times of Malta  and Marie Benoit for the feature published on the Malta Independent  on Sunday .

It's important for an artist to have a venue where to showcase his or her artworks. An art gallery is different from an art studio, the place where usually works of art materialize. I tend to compare the former to a sanctuary in which visitors have the opportunity to relate with the finished pieces of one or more artists. My art gallery Art Cube, situated in Xewkija, caters exclusively for the public visibility of my artworks. It has served this purpose for more than two years since its inauguration and I am proud to have this small space which attracts both local and foreign visitors alike. Art cube is open to interested visitors only by appointment.