Marginalia – Paintings and Works on Paper
Vince Briffa often thinks of his work as an ongoing book, where each work, like a mark, a note or a thought made in its margins, adds a new layer of reflection and meaning to the organic and entwining flow of narrative of the main text. Although hardly considered marginal, this distinctive activity in the margins is mainly defined by its relation to the main text, since the margins are perceived as the excess, at the periphery and surrounding it. Margins also define the physical limits of the book, and yet too frequently, the habitability of the margins through writing and other marks is perceived as simple observations or notes, being less valuable and with little to no influence on the main book.
The works in the exhibition are therefore marginalia extracted from a current chapter, in themselves in a state of becoming, that dialogically contribute and become one with Briffa’s current narrative concerning the interdependence of form, paint, colour, materials and gesture, and anything else in between.
Vince Briffa is an artist working in drawing, painting, sculpture, video and installation. He is a tenured Professor of Art at the University of Malta. His work has been exhibited in numerous prestigious venues including the Malta Pavilion, Venice Art Biennale, 1999 and 2019; Pierides Museum, Cyprus; Palais des Nations, Switzerland; Museum of Modern Art, Liechtenstein; Casoria Museum, Naples; Villa Manin Contemporary Art, Italy; MAC, Argentina; Palais Liechtenstein, Austria; Museum of Fine Arts, Romania and Museum of Modern Art, Israel amongst others. His work forms part of many local and international private and public collections. (www.vincebriffa.com)
Contributors:
Arts Council Malta
The University of Greenwich
Quick Turtle Transport
Thomas Smith Insurance
