Carmel Bonello


Carmel Bonello was born in Siggiewi, Malta in 1960. He holds a diploma in art studies and graduated under the direction of Joseph L. Mallia.

He is best described as a born expressionist: his work oozes a primitive and instinctive quality as he improvises and works in a spontaneous manner.

His art is rough, wild and uncouth, full or raw emotion, sensation and feeling.

Bonello believes in capturing moods. He works with an explosive and dynamic energy. It is incredible to see how a few brush strokes of his can capture the moment.

The simplicity and economy in line and composition lend his work clarity and immediacy. It is packed with dynamic swirls, action and energy, forceful, strong and bold.

His oeuvre is the projection of his carefree and cheerful character. Quite often, the theme is maternity and an idealized, positive image of motherhood.

Bonello took part in many collective and solo exhibitions in Malta and abroad, where many of his works can be admired. One can find a selection of his best works in his personal studio in Mellieha.

He also teaches art in secondary school as well as privately.

Thankfully, artist Carmel Bonello has found an opening in his busy schedule to craft his interpretation of a bettija’rt.


“Divine”

by Carmel Bonello

With the chromatic effect and thanks to the artist’s own original style, Bonello expresses flow, movement and energy, forces that seem to draw life from Malta’s Mediterranean colours, and he weaves it all into a story of  Delicata’s wines steeped in Maltese heritage.

There’s light everywhere and it’s hard to tell where it’s coming from. Is it the typical Maltese scenery that the artists depicts or from the barrel painting itself, whose unapologetic colours and lively brushwork generate a brightness of their own? 

Someone once said “The act of painting is a conversation. You don’t control it; you respond to it.” Similarly, it seems that Bonello has been listening carefully and his answer (of light and form) to this wine-themed art contest has expressed itself as a new reality and truth.

Carmel Bonello says “I believe that my  artworks are created when I start from open space and finish in something that gives life and energy”.

Bonello can control the flow of paint; there is no accident, just as there is no beginning and no end – just the dynamics of spontaneity.

The ten artist finalists for this year’s 2019 Bettija’rt | wine.art.living are Joseph Barbara, Claire Attard Vella, David Xuereb, Caroline Said Lawrence, Carmel Bonello, Zack Ritchie, Francis Galea, Priscilla Gatt, Donald Camilleri and Sara Pace.

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