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Exploring The Unseen: Alex Dalli’s Exhibition ‘Il-Ħabba tal-Għajn’ Delves Into The Art Of Abstract

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The solo exhibition, Il-Ħabba tal-Għajn, by Alex Dalli showcases the artist’s journey from figurative to abstract art over a span of 45 years.

This evolution has stemmed from Dalli’s early desire to escape challenging childhood conditions to a deeper exploration of spirituality in his artwork.

As Dalli’s artistic gaze has turned inward, his work has undergone a parallel transformation, shedding form to articulate subtle ideas, feelings, and abstract concepts.

Dalli’s minimalistic style, for which he is now recognized, has been driven by his sensitivity to color and surface. His art merges the personal and the universal, paying special attention to the small and the unseen.

The exhibition takes inspiration from the concept of the artist who, as they gradually lose sight of the external world due to progressive blindness, gains a deeper, steadier internal sight.

This archetype is found in history and literature, with figures such as Homer, Jorge Louis Borges, James Joyce, and John Milton.

Alex Dalli is also slowly losing his sight. As he goes blind to the world around him, his paintings open a singular bright eye (għajn), through the deep darkness, capable of revealing the hidden reality and essence (ħabba) of things.

Il-Ħabba tal-Għajn traces the artist’s long journey into the luminescent corridors of his own blindness.

The exhibition also takes its cue from Michael Zammit’s Għana ’l Hena (APS, 2005) which is a cycle of poetry inspired by Sanskrit philosophy and mantra meditation. Zammit uses language to do the same thing Dalli does with paint, and his words provide a context and touchstone for reading Dalli’s complexly coded images.

The exhibition is curated by Gabriel Zammit and will be on display from June 8 to June 28 at the Malta Society of Arts, 219 Republic Str Valletta.

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