Artist in Residence – Kenneth Zammit Tabona

𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬
Why is it that Kenneth Zammit Tabona’s pictures are nearly always ‘stimulating’? (I think I have found the right adjective!). The answer is perhaps because he reminds us, in his own way, of things we like, things we should admire. He does it colourfully and with conviction: there is nostalgia involved without ever being boring, and there is undoubtedly more than a little sophistication which is brought to mind and can be recognised without much difficulty by so many of us. He reminds us of where we should be looking and what we should focus on and remember, and he does this with skill.
A snobbish Sliema tea party where the over-dressed ladies are gossiping in competitively posh surroundings, and where the maid adorned in Maltese lace is wearing flip-flops, was easily enough to make me pine when I lived abroad and saw the picture.
When our artist adapted himself to a commission to paint the five joyful mysteries of the Rosary the results were delightfully landscaped and the Christmas scene remains memorable. He was not copying anybody; the settings were essentially Kenneth Zammit Tabona creations.
His more recent ‘fuori-dentros’ with their views of interiors dressed with porcelain and a variety of objets d’art, and exteriors with nostalgic landscapes including little chapels, lace-embellished festas and celestial moods have confirmed the fact that our artist is no dilettante but an established professional worthy of repute and sure to survive and be competed for in collections down future generations.
Nicholas de Piro.
𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐚
Mr Zammit Tabona (b. 1956) is a well-known Maltese book illustrator and watercolourist with many exhibitions under his belt and paintings found in prestigious collections both in Malta and overseas including Berleymont in Bruxelles. His is an instantly recognizable style using strong colours and distinctive shapes always epitomising the beauty of his land of birth; whether through its landscape, urbanscape or interiors.
Mr Zammit Tabona is the first Artistic Director of the Manoel Theatre taking care of all events from opera to prose to chamber music and solo recitals. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Valletta International Baroque Festival since 2012.