Willie Chiappe holds ‘Introspective Retrospective’ exhibition

By Leah Pou

Willie Chiappe recently opened his new exhibition ‘Introspective Retrospective’ at the Fine Arts Gallery in Casemates Square.

The exhibition, which coincided with his 90th birthday, explored Mr Chiappe’s artistic journey which has seen him work with a diverse range of media.

From paintings of landscapes to ceramics, figurative sculptures and hand-built pottery, ‘Introspective Retrospective’ shows how Mr Chiappe’s style and relationship with art has changed over time.

Mr Chiappe opened the exhibition thanking both John Langdon and Michele Stagnetto who he credited with making the whole exhibition possible.

Mr Chaippe spoke about a dream he had recently which led him to delve deeper into his mind and connect to his work, and so, after years of his friends encouraging him to host an exhibition, he decided it was time to create ‘Introspective Retrospective’.

There are two sides to the exhibition with the first room displaying landscapes, many of which had been donated to the exhibition on loan from people who have purchased them in the past and then the second showing his more abstract pieces such as those made out of pottery and card.

He became “very involved” with these and got to the point where he could “make them as thin as he could until they disintegrated or see how far he could go without them disintegrating”.

He saw this as a metaphor for how hurt or damaged a person can become without falling totally to pieces, describing them as “fragile and imperfect vessels”.

Mr Chiappe spoke about some of his favourite pieces which are on display, one being a painting of a church and the other an abstract piece which he calls ‘The Big Bang 9’ due to the way it is separated into nine sections.

The reason these both hold a special place for Mr Chiappe is due to the fact, they were the last two pieces he was able to finish painting, as he completed them alongside each other.

The exhibition is open to the public in the Fine Art Gallery until November 21, 2025. Opening times are Monday to Friday 10am to 2pm and 3pm to 6pm.