A new series of monumental oil paintings by Maltese artist Tonio Mallia is now on view at MUŻA’s imposing Camerone Hall, transforming the historic chamber into a space of layered memory and reflection. Known for his meditative, atmospheric style, Mallia delves into the psychological and cultural dimensions of 16th-century Malta, with a particular focus on the Great Siege of 1565.

For more than three decades, Tonio has dedicated himself to developing a distinct creative vision. Born in Malta in 1955, he embarked on his artistic journey as a landscape painter working in watercolours—a medium he has explored with persistence, innovation, and refinement throughout his career. Over time, his deepening mastery of technique has enabled him to approach the challenges of this demanding and versatile medium with confidence, allowing him to fully unlock its expressive potential.

Rather than depicting events in a literal or narrative way, Mallia’s canvases evoke the emotional climate of the era—dread, belief, resilience—through abstraction, symbolic form, and shifting atmospheres. His work draws deeply on sacred visual traditions, taking cues from Byzantine and early Christian art forms, such as iconography, mosaics, and frescoes, while also resonating with the votive paintings of Malta and the mystical intensity of 19th century symbolism.

Each canvas bears a deliberately aged surface, as if unearthed rather than painted, presenting itself as a relic of memory rather than a document of history. Recurring motifs—the cross, the sword, the galley, the candle—surface faintly, not as declarations of triumph but as faded vessels of remembrance.