Anna Grima is an interdisciplinary visual artist guided by an highly disciplined drawing hand. She is currently reading for an MFA in Digital Arts at the University of Malta.
Anna began her practice as a graphic designer and illustrator. In 1982 she was awarded a scholarship by the Italian Cultural Institute to study painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Perugia, Italy, focusing on the study of the nude and tutored by the late Professor Bruno Orfei. Her practice continued on a painting/sailing expedition (1984 to 1988) learning the ancient Japanese art of Gyotaku around the Indonesian archipelago, later to exhibit her works in Western Australia and San Francisco CA, USA.
Grima’s works include philosophical and metaphysical discourse on specific concepts related to creative thinking. Her abstract paintings, watercolours and drawings are a diverse expression of her preferred subject matter and are the outcome of her contact with different cultural and spiritual traditions during her travels in Europe and the Far East. Intimacy and distance are expressed using colour, text and the universal language of geometric abstraction. Her works capture a coefficient of universal beliefs expressed through the use of concept, metaphor, form and design.
Many of her paintings hang in private and public collections. Two of her abstracts currently form part of the prestigious Berlaymont Summa Artis Collection at the Berlaymont Building, Brussels. Selected exhibitions include; The Way of the Heart – St. James Cavalier, Valletta, Malta; Sacred Footprints - Plymouth University, UK; 70/2000 –The Road to Meikle Seiggie - National Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania/ Picker Gallery, Kingston, UK; Art in Malta Today – St. James Cavalier, Valletta, Malta; The Story of Earth and Sky – Palais Des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland/ University of Malta, Msida, Malta; Temples of Malta – Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California, USA/ Scottish Rites Temple, Oakland, California, USA/ Bade Gallery, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA; Sacred Journeys – Matthew Gallery, Edinburgh Arts Festival, Scotland; Seven Temples Seven Women - Museum of Archaeology, Valletta, Malta; From Haġar Qim to the Ring of Brodgar - Maritime Museum, Birgu, Malta.
Artist Statement
To my mind, visual harmony speaks between polarities, where the balancing of opposing forces creates dynamic movement.
The Word and the canvas join in a meditative visual experience. My own self reflection provides me with concepts to explore and articulate by means of icons and symbols, creating a visual language composed within fields of intense depth of colour.
My works are categorized and placed within the multi-faceted aspects of my creative output. These include line drawings and the study of the figure in pen and ink, chalk and charcoal, conceptual pieces that play hide and seek with consciousness, and large abstract paintings that emerge from the metaphysical realm. These deeper, more consuming ideas often suggest spiritual values interpreted through the use of beauty, form and design, integrated within my art to conjure visual elements that seek to bridge the space between seeing and knowing. This is my ultimate aim, resulting in works that are about presence and experience.
