ART | Constructions
“The constructions came about after embracing geometry in my paintings. I experimented in making physical shapes cut out in wood and assembled them in a language that invites interaction through juxtaposition. I painted the cut-out shapes and started to glue and nail them into a coherent whole. Complex compositions developed where low and high relief allowed forms to cast shadows in a playful but a structured architectural unity. I became engaged in a new language concerned with the relationship of forms and shapes as well as that or organization.”
Black, White & Grey Relief
Wood Cardboard, glue, plaster & enamel paint
71 x 35 cm
Unsigned, 1985
“This work was an experiment in creating low and high relief using wood, cardboard, plaster and glue. I was after creating an uneven surface as well as illusion through paint. The driving force was the study of cubist works that I had seen at the Picasso Museum in Paris as well as works by my mentor Esprit Barthet who created in the late 1970s a series of wooden constructions. In this process carpentry tools became alternative means of how I could create an artwork.”
Square-Circle Relationship
Painted Wood & Sand
62 x 62 cm
Unsigned, 1985
“Square-Circle Relationship remains a key work from this phase of constructing 3-D compositions. I picked the circle and the square and started to place them in a way that they relate to each other. I used natural sand for its colour and texture together with a scheme of white, black, grey and orange. The work was shown at the Gallerija Fenici in 1984.”
Studio Table
Oil on Canvas
126 x 186 cm
Signed, 1984
“The Studio Table is a realistic still-life painting. However, it records the time period when I was engaged in the creation of the constructions. It depicts my studio table cluttered with geometrically cut pieces of wood next to my paints, a mixing bowl, a rag and a letter and an envelope. To the far left in the dark is an open clock, as a reminder of its construction similar to the wooden compositions I was making. The painting is life-size and is a reminder that realism and abstract expressions complement each other and live harmoniously side by side.”
Study for Black, White & Grey Relief
Cardboard on Masonite
20 x 25 cm
Unsigned, 1985
Study for Square-Circle Relationship
Cardboard
21 x 21 cm
Unsigned, 1985
“Several small studies were done using cardboard instead of wood. They were used as tests for possible larger compositions. The slight movement in the placing of different geometrical shapes created a dynamic uneven surface.”
Study for Triptych
Cardboard on Masonite
22 x 30 cm
Unsigned, 1985
“Ideas of using fragmented geometrical shapes similar to fractured glass gave me the opportunity to explore movement and relief. Similar to a stained-glass window the composition although made of small pieces comes together as a unified whole.”
