Manuel Caruana
It is always very interesting when one comes across of a few new names of young and upcoming artists who are eager to share and show their talents in local exhibitions. New talent is one of the vital signs of an active and vibrant art scene. Manuel Caruana is such a new name whose contribution to this exhibition is a series of recent abstract watercolours. ( Exhibition held during 2010 at the "Gallery Last Touch" , in Mosta).
I made my acquaintance with Manuel some six years ago at the regular life drawing sessions held at Alfred Briffa's studio in Mosta. We drew and shared ideas and soon became friend and have been in touch ever since. I was perhaps one of the very first to experience his abstract watercolour results when with the naive sincerity of a child Manuel emailed me several images for my evaluation and comments.
Manuel has experienced very early in his career a sense of dissatisfaction with recording objective reality and contemplated the possibility of venturing into more spontaneous compositions which are not preconceived and allowed himself to go with the flow of painting itself. The only tangible concept he shared with me which makes some reference to nature was the fact that he is fascinated by the changes of space formed by the clouds and particularly the array of colours he observes while returning home from work.
This collection of watercolour abstracts is indeed about colours and shapes but in my opinion they are more concerned with the control and flow of the watercolour medium. I notice how subtle colour stains the paper surface, seeps into its weave and gently blends into the adjacent colour. At times colour is confined to a definitive irregularly shaped area which while relating to what is next to it, at the same time offers a sharp contrast.
The viewer is invited to interact in the experience of these new creations by Manuel Caruana to experience the sense of play and novelty that the young artist encounters in his creations.
Dr. Joseph Paul Cassar
Abstract paintings
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