Artists Christopher Saliba and Mario Cassar are presenting a collection of paintings in a joint exhibition titled “Selection - D.O.K.”, at gallery Art …e, Victoria, Gozo. The two artists, both born in 1975, live in Gozo and are teachers by profession.

Mr. Christopher Saliba teaches Art at Ninu Cremona Lyceum Complex at Victoria. He put up eight major exhibitions, the latest of which were hosted by St. James Centre for Creativity and the National Museum of Fine Arts, in Valletta.

Mr. Mario Cassar teaches Art at Sir Michelangelo Refalo Post-Secondary Centre at Victoria. He organised nine major exhibitions, the latest of which were hosted by York University and St.Paul’s Church, both in Toronto, Canada.

What is common to the two Gozitan artists is their interest in exploring new materials and mixed media in their continuous quest of developing their artistic language. Saliba, who is perhaps best known for his expressionist landscape and abstract paintings, has recently started incorporating pieces of sack onto his textured canvasses. As the artist himself explains, a major source of inspiration in his latest paintings are the works by Informal artist Alberto Burri, which he discovered in 1999 during a visit at his Museum at Citta di Castello, Northern Italy. Saliba’s fascination in relating materials with paints is evident in his harmonious and colourful compositions. Over the past few years, Saliba has come a long way to prove himself as one of the leading up-and-coming artists hailing from the sister island (E. Fiorentino, 2006). His works form part of the permanent collections of the Accademia di Belle Arti, Pietro Vannucci, in Perugia, Italy, the National Museum of Fine Arts and the St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, in Valletta.

Mario Cassar’s selection includes works which show the artist’s search for spirituality through the use of gold-leaf and mixed media. Some of the works in the exhibition, including “Pjazza Regina”, were described by leading Canadian art critic John Bauer as “conceptually mystical”. Cassar’s current work explores the strange role of religion in contemporary art and he uses painting, sculpture, photography and installation to express his ideas. His latest installation, “Bahar”, in collaboration with German, Austrian and Swiss artists, was executed and exhibited at Europahaus, Vienna, as part of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008.

The exhibition is open to the public and runs till the 14th of April.

Gallery Art …e is situated at 1, Library Street, Victoria, Gozo. It is open from Monday to Saturday from 9.15 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. On Fridays the gallery is open from 5 till 7 p.m. Private viewing may be arranged by phoning 21557911 or 99804774.