David Xuereb


David Xuereb was born in 1960 in Attard, Malta.

He studied at the Naxxar Technical Institute obtaining his City & Guilds certification in Wood, Metal and Plastic Works and completed a 2-year course in Arts at the Polytechnic Institute.

David has not only excelled in the visual language of his creations, whether in the figurative or in the abstract sectors, but has equally proved his expertise in the diversity of techniques and media employed.

Attracted by forms, texture and colour – internally driven, and emotionally charged – Xuereb has crafted works of art that have been described as very uplifting.

He uses a variety of mediums. In fact, the artist’s portfolio seems to be the works of several persons.

David Xuereb’s hallmark is probably the versatility of his vast collection. His ever-changing use of techniques has become his artist’s signature. The balance of wildness and sensitivity in his creations are just some of the styles you will discover when looking into Xuereb’s world.

The list of exhibitions he has taken part in, the number of commissioned works and awards he has won is lengthy.


“The Creation (and He made wine for all to enjoy)”

by David Xuereb

Inspired by Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’, Xuereb focuses on the moment of creation, equating the art of winemaking to the act of making art.

His bettija’rt cleverly alludes to Michelangelo’s famous iconography by wrapping two hands around the barrel. However, what the artist is portraying here is a collaboration. The hands are casts from life, one of Xuereb himself and the other of winemaker Matthew Delicata who is passing the wine from his hand to the hand of the artist.

The use of the religious symbolism of ‘The Creation of Adam’ is deliberate and refers to the fact that, as recounted in the Marriage at Cana for example, even the Lord himself was not impartial to a good glass of wine, which is a preference often shared by artists who acknowledge wine as one of their muses.

With a barrique as an ‘empty canvas’, Xuereb’s intervention is sensitive to the natural beauty of the wood, which he marks with Lichtenberg patterns made from the relationship between the oak staves and their securing  steel hoops.

Seeing the world literally through a glass of wine, the artist turns the metaphor on its head by turning the whole barrel in a giant glass of wine inviting us to watch the world from a broader perspective.

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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