The Malta Society of Arts (MSA) is currently home to a major exhibition that brings together the works of Giorgio Preca (1909–1984), one of Malta’s foremost modernist painters, and contemporary artist and author Ryan Falzon.
Curated by Giulia Privitelli, the show explores the still life genre as a bridge across time, seen through the eyes of two artists who never met, whose works are on display within the halls at the MSA’s historic Palazzo de La Salle in Valletta.
Giorgio Preca’s expansive body of work spans from portraits to religious compositions, imaginary figures and vivid scenes of everyday life. For this exhibition, however, the focus rests on his still life works, that the curator notes “push the limits of both materiality and subject matter.”
“They are not merely academic exercises, but meditations on time, memory, and the unseen. Paintings, in a sense, are themselves still lifes – resistant to time,” says Giulia.
The works on display have been carefully selected by the curator from Maltese collections and from Preca’s Rome studio, with the help of his son, Massimo Preca. “The distinctive feature of my father’s still lifes lies in his continuous search for synthesis, tending towards abstraction,” he notes, adding that seeing his father’s work in the galleries of the Malta Society of Arts carries a strong sense of continuity.
“Giorgio was a member of the Society from 1939, and he exhibited here in 1952 and 1955. Bringing his works back to these walls is both a tribute and a renewal of that legacy.”
In response to Preca’s works, contemporary artist Ryan Falzon was invited to create and select pieces that would engage in a visual dialogue with Preca’s still lifes, particularly his more recent works that centre on plants, domestic interiors and the rhythms of everyday life.
“The process was like a conversation,” Ryan explains, who describes the experience of exhibiting alongside Preca’s works as humbling and affirming. “It is, without doubt, an immense honour. This exhibition positions me at the forefront of carrying the Maltese Modernist spirit into the present. Preca’s vision was contemporary in its time, and revisiting his works now allows us to ask what still life – and life itself – can mean today.”
Still Life | Life, Still invites visitors not to consume images passively, but to sit with them and engage with stillness as a rare privilege.
The staging of the show also reflects this: each gallery highlights not only paintings but also objects drawn from the artists’ studios – from an iconic rocking chair to a paint-stained armchair – that are saturated with memory and presence.
“This exhibition encapsulates what the Malta Society of Arts has stood for since its foundation in 1852,” says Acting President Roderick Camilleri.
“We have always sought to provide a space for artistic growth, experimentation, and dialogue. By bringing together Giorgio Preca and Ryan Falzon, we reaffirm our commitment to intergenerational exchange and to re-examining Maltese cultural identity through new perspectives.”
The exhibition will run until 18 September 2025. Entrance is free.
Main image: Mark Scicluna / Artwork images by Lisa Attard
