Fabio Borg (b.1974) was born in Malta but has Italian origins. Art has played a central role in his life and from a young age he studied drawing and painting at the Malta School of Art. Here he studied under the artist Anthony Calleja, who encouraged Borg’s talent. Borg spent several years in Italy, where he met various Italian artists. These were formative years for Borg. His encounters with Italian artists helped him to develop his ideas and thoughts. Further influence came from Gabriel Caruana who backed the artist’s career. Through Caruana’s encouragement, Borg launched his first solo exhibition at The Mill in 1999, after which he exhibited widely both in Malta and abroad. In April of this year Borg had a solo exhibition at Galleria Vittoria, which is one of the prestigious galleries in Rome on via Margutta. His solo was entitled ‘Radici’.

 

Borg’s subject matter studies various aspects of life. His current inspiration comes from the Maltese landscape, especially the countryside. He claims that he has been subliminally messaged by his surroundings, to paint and capture it the way he recalls, in the way of preserving its beauty for future generations. These haunting landscapes indeed evoke emotions in the viewer. Many scenes have leading paths into the woods and the unknown, gently pulling the eye into the artwork itself. His compositions are characterized by bold arrangements and textured plains of earthy colour, which bring out the design background. Borg’s work captures the essence of emotions which are brought about by his particular perspective. His work places the viewer on a similar standpoint as the artist and helps the viewer to appreciate the local countryside in parallel with the artist. As he states: ‘Painting trees for me is like a universal language of nature, in which I can tell a different story each time I paint’.

 

The artist works from his studio, which gives him the right environment and opportunity to interpret the scene from his own perspective, giving it, its unique interpretation, without being conditioned by light and atmosphere. Borg’s preferred medium is acrylics on canvas since their fast-drying time renders them to be practical and versatile.