Baroque and Contemporary art are inextricably linked in Lucio Fontana’s conception of space and time, and this is particularly evident in his ceramic production (which preceded his research on other art media). It was during the Second World War, while Fontana was back in Argentina, that he started developing his idea of the Baroque as an endless source of inspiration. In the 'Manifiesto Blanco' (1946) one can identify the very beginnings of what would develop into the 'Manifesto Spaziale' (1947), in which Baroque was presented as the predominant art movement, the one that, better than everything else, understood the centrality of time and movement.

The island of Malta, whose art is persistently bound with Baroque aesthetics and principles, is a perfect place in which to host a study on the connections between the Baroque style and contemporary art. The link, which has been brought to the fore by the works of Lucio Fontana (and which is particularly evident in his ceramic production) is witnessed in the artist’s legacy, as numerous of his contemporaries and succeeding artists adopted ceramics as an art medium.

The concepts of ‘time’, ‘space’, ‘movement’ and ‘ornament’ are, in fact, particularly important for different artists, amongst which one can include both modern and contemporary artists such as: Chillida; Joan Miró; Robert Picault; Llorens Artigas; La Pietra; Bertozzi & Casoni; Luigi Ontani; Miquel Barceló; Grayson Perry. With this context in mind, the ceramics of Maltese artist Gabriel Caruana, one of the leading artists in Malta, will be analysed within the context of this international network of pioneering ceramicists.

The conference will be held on Thursday 15th December 2016 at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Valletta.

Academics and researchers are invited to submit proposals for papers which deal with the theme of the conference.

Abstracts of around 300 words are to be sent to Dr. Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci (giuseppe.schembri-bonacium.edu.mt) by not later than Thursday 15th September 2016.

Convenor: Dr. Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci LL.M (Kiev State), LL.D (Melit.), Ph.D (Moscow)

Support and Logistics: Irene Biolchini, Nikki Petroni

The conference is organised by the Modern and Contemporary Art Research Programme, Department of History of Art, Faculty of Arts, University of Malta in collaboration with the Valletta 2018 Foundation and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Valletta