The Little Room Upstairs: Portraitist Kicks Off This Month’s Exhibition At Mqabba
Your monthly fix of art in Mqabba has arrived once again, this time featuring portrait artist Johanna Barthet, who is exhibiting her work at the quaint space of Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq.
“The little room upstairs has a dual reference point for the artist Johanna Barthet who considers the little room upstairs as a state of mind when she is alone with her thoughts,” curator Melanie Erixon wrote in the exhibition synopsis.
The exhibition name also refers to her art studio which is situated in a beautiful inspiring room upstairs in her home.
“All the works in this exhibition are depicting female portraits, all staring directly at the viewer. Their stare is a powerful one that conquers the viewer’s own space and takes over.”
“The use of props and backgrounds is very minimal and lacks detail, thus enhancing the dominance of the portrayed face and the crudeness of the truest self when one is alone without any distractions.”
“Painting female portraits have been Barthet’s preferred subject since she was very young. This is her second solo exhibition showing such portraits and the subject is becoming quite a synonym of Barthet’s oeuvre.”
“The love Barthet has for this subject matter and her art can be fully captured in her own words, where she describes her artworks as ‘putting love in a bottle’, where her portraits are magically captured and when she finishes working on a portrait, when the fleeting moment is gone, it is hard to conjure that sensation once again.”
Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq launched the exhibition last week, attracting quite a large number of people to the launch night.
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