An Exclusive Interview With Antony Micallef – 'Distorted Self Portrait'

Antony Micallef is a British artist. He was taught by the great landscape painter John Virtue, a student of the last of the post-war painters, the renowned Frank Auerbach himself. Micallef is Widely recognised as one of the finest painters in contemporary art today. His art is exhibited in numerous collections all over the world, and was part of group shows held in institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery, The Royal Academy, Tate Britain and the ICA London.

Known for his visually charged figure paintings, Antony Micallef (b. 1975) has enjoyed international success ever-since he was granted the second-place award of the BP Portrait Awards of 2000, hosted at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Other key exhibitions of his art include a solo exhibition at the Pearl Lam Galleries, Hong Kong Pedder Building space; an exhibition at the National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria; the National Museum in Warsaw, Poland; the Royal Academy, London, UK; the ICA, London, UK; Tate Britain, London, UK; and Dallas Contemporary, Texas, USA.

Micallef’s series of works are a complete departure from his earlier artworks. He builds up a relief-like surface with heavy paint to depict a figurative mass in front of a muted background. By using an impasto technique, the material is pushed to its extreme and blurs our reading of painting and sculpture. Confronted with the sheer physicality of the painting as an object, the depicted subject takes on its own life and existence. Furthermore, the use of gestural abstraction resonates with the traditions of action painting from the 1940s and the School of London from the 1970s.

We are most delighted to have this special interview with Antony Micallef, about his artwork, ‘DISTORTED SELF PORTRAIT’.

Art Market: Hello, Antony. Thank you for the interview. You have made a long way from your previous style of creation, that some had referred to as ‘bubblegum pop’ paintings, to your current style, which is very deep. Tell us about this development.