Gabriel Caruana (1929-2018) was a Maltese artist, an icon of modern art on the island. A pioneer always seeking curiosity, risk and error. A tireless traveller, devoted to ceramics and Faenza, Italy, which he considered his second hometown. Over the years, in fact, Caruana participated in various editions of the Premio Faenza and developed projects with Muky and Matteucci, or as he liked to call them “amici cari”. Since the 1980s, Bonne Ten Kate, another close friend of Caruana’s, started documenting Caruana’s long artistic career.
The ‘Amici Cari’ exhibition celebrates these friendships at The Mill established by Caruana, now home to the Foundation that bears his name, and which has the mission of encouraging contemporary art and creativity. A destiny that crosses Caruana and Muky’s path (1926 – 2022), who has generously donated her property to the City of Faenza to support artist residences and the enhancement of ceramic art and culture.
Inside The Mill in Birkirkara, a selection of works by Gabriel Caruana will be presented, projected on the walls using original 35mm slides, shot by his Dutch friend, Bonne Ten Kate (1934-2021). Alongside these “ghostly” presences, a series of drawings preserved at Muky’s house will be presented, these being works for an exhibition that Caruana was meant to hold in Faenza. These lino prints that have been scanned will be projected alongside the slides, creating a coherent environment capable of telling a long-standing bond. The proof of Faenza’s internationality, capable over the years of remaining at the centre of cultural exchanges that live beyond the existence of the artists who promoted them. To unite us, today as then, ceramics.
Amici Cari is co-curated by Irene Biolchini and Mary Rose Caruana. The Exhibition is part of the Buongiorno Ceramica International Festival, the third time that the Gabriel Caruana Foundation is participating in this unique festival celebrating ceramics. The Foundation felt this would be a good occasion to highlight and dearly remember two important figures in Caruana’s artistic life, who have recently passed away. With the Support of: AICC, Associazione Italiana Città della Ceramica. A heartfelt thanks to the MIC of Faenza for making available documents from the Muky Matteucci Collection.
Venue: The Mill – Art, Culture and Crafts Centre
Dates: Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd May
Time: 16:30 to 19:30
