Sac.Charles Vella
Restorer – Sculptor - Artist

By Kevin Sciberras
 

“To launch Reverend Vella’s catalogue is an exercise in sacred spirituality. A fusion of the sacred and the humane. Charles Vella is an artist that Gozo is truly proud of.” These were the concluding words from the speech by the Hon. Giovanna Debono, Minister for Gozo, during the launching of Fr. Charles Vella’s first solo artistic catalogue – ‘Ars Sacra’.

Ars Sacra which was launched during a particular soirée organised by ‘Spectacular Spectacular Events’ held to the suggestive backdrop of the fortifications of the Gran Castello – the Gozo Citadel – which attracted a very large attendance of fellow artists, art lovers and friends. Contemporarily, Rev. Vella was also participating in a collective exhibition of Sacred Art, organised by the Sacred Art Commission of the Gozo Diocese. On the occasion of the Year of the Holy Eucharist, this exhibition brought together a good number of Gozitan artists and some Maltese names too, to exhibit works related to the theme “Christus”. Fr. Charles Vella, a Gozitan hailing from Nadur where he was born in 1966, excelled by presenting not less than six works of art, entitled ‘Passio’, representing the highlights of the passion and death of Our Lord.

Beside his vivid emotional expressions, which depict at an extremely human level, the physical and spiritual suffering endured during the last hours of the greatest of the martyrs, Fr. Charles Vella must certainly also be lauded for resorting to the forgotten use of one of our traditional local media in statue making – wax. Certainly a very challenging and no easy task, which Fr. Charles Vella’s fingers mastered artistically.

As a Christian, and above all as a priest, following his ordination in 1993, Fr. Charles Vella is aware of the artistic talents undeservingly donated to him as a gift from the Divine. Although Reverend Vella discovered these talents at a very young age, when he already spent his childhood days modelling clay statues and crib figures, and painting a variety of themes, he studied art and restoration under the tutorship of P.D.M. in Milan together with other renowned local artists. His works of restoration, some of which related to high profile paintings of prolific artists, can be seen at the Basilica of Saint Peter & Saint Paul in Nadur, the Franciscan Conventual & the Franciscan Minor Churches in Valletta, the Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew in Lipari (Messina), private collections, churches and museums.

Fr. Charles Vella has also organised a personal exhibition of terracotta Neapolitan style crib figures (pasturi) at the Cathedral Museum in Mdina and at the Heritage Malta’s Inquisitors Palace in Vittoriosa. Last Christmas, Fr. Vella left thousands of local and foreign visitors simply breathless, with the presentation of a unique original Neapolitan Crib, at the entrance of the Banca Giuratale in Victoria, Gozo. This same crib with a good number of new figures, representing scenes from a typical Neapolitan life scene, will once again be exhibited in the month of December in Republic Street, Valletta. Reverend Vella’s particular love for the Christmas period may also be seen through his revival of the adorable “Bambini tal-Gradenza”, which during the reign of the Knights of St. John, decorated most of the churches and palaces on the island. The origin of the tradition of these ‘bambini’, nicknamed ‘tal-gradenza’ as they were usually exhibited on this particular piece of furniture (chest of drawers), is unknown, although they most certainly came from a Sicilian or Spanish tradition.

'Ars Sacra’, a catalogue of sixteen of Fr. Charles Vella’s works of art, professionally photographed by Chris Cini of Motif Media, is meant to be more of a celebration rather than a catalogue. Through the photographic medium, the catalogue introduces art lovers to the yet unknown artistic world of Charles Vella.

The catalogue is simply the beginning of an ambitious programme of artistic events, through which Fr. Charles Vella would like to text a hymn of thanksgiving and praise to the Almighty on the occasion of his fortieth birthday.

Kevin Sciberras is the Gozo Cultural Co-ordinator

& Fr. Vella’s Artistic Curator