CareMalta has unveiled its last Zaren Vassallo Art (ZVART) piece this year at Villa Messina – this time a pictorial relief by artist Antonio Mifsud, entitled Ageing is a Blessing. The work of art can be found in the home’s chapel.
The ZVART initiative, launched by the Vassallo Group to celebrate its 75th anniversary, has been implemented in a number of properties belonging to the group, with the aim of embellishing the work environment through the beauty of art.
Mifsud’s work of art narrates the bond and love that still exist between the elderly and their families. In fact, the artist’s piece – a fusion of sculpture and painting – features a well-groomed elderly couple, together with their pet and a young girl.
“I also wanted to highlight the wisdom, experience and ideas of older persons – important values passed on to younger generations,” he explained.
The piece is dominated by a central figure representing benevolence. “Since the piece was commissioned by an elderly home, I wanted to stress the love and care older persons receive from their carers,” added Mifsud, who is a nurse at Mater Dei Hospital by profession.
Ageing is a Blessing is Mifsud’s first work of art for a care home. However, the artist is also the mastermind behind an eight-station Via Crucis at Mater Dei’s chapel – which is a modern take on the centuries-old tradition that compartmentalised the account of the Passion of Christ into 14 tableaux.
Mifsud owes his academic grounding to his tutor, Alfred Camilleri Cauchi, who instilled in him a love for sacred art. The artist’s Catholic upbringing, the obligatory after-school Catechism lessons, as well as a simple life centred around village church activities also contributed to his pronounced inclination to focus on this genre.
Mifsud’s works can be found in public places, churches and private homes, as well as in several prestigious art collections.
