Portrait : Alfred Chircop (part two)

Abstract

By general critical consent, Chircop is the undisputed local master of the so-called "abstract" language of art, which he has made a constituent feature of the Maltese cultural landscape, since his 1964 exhibition at the Bank of Alderney. His mature work has, undoubtedly, an immediate impact on the viewer; the attitude with which I have learnt to approach Chircop's studio is that of readiness to receive unforeseable gifts. Nonetheless, the full fruition of his works which implies a constant modification of one's perception of the world, requires a process of patient familiarisation with them.