Local artist Lara Vella will be holding her fourth solo exhibition, starting tonight at Palm Court at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana, which is curated by Dr Charlene Vella and will be on display for the entire month of August.

The double definition of the word ‘dari’ in Maltese, meaning both ‘my home’ and ‘long ago’ has a particularly poignant significance in this exhibition, given the artist’s nostalgia for Malta as the home country that she has left since moving to Florence.

‘Dari’ presents paintings of Maltese summers such as a homemade bruschetta, the local prickly pear and idyllic reflections in the sea, all giving a sense of the artist’s deep connection to her Maltese heritage.

These images are all presented in a bright palette that gives a dreamlike quality to her work, almost as though the scenes are being perceived through a child’s eyes. Lara Vella expresses her wish to share this childlike affection of her home country with local and tourists alike: “Each painting is a piece of my heart, a reflection of the places and moments that define what home means to me. I hope visitors can feel the same sense of peace and nostalgia that I experience when I paint these scenes.”

Will you be visiting ‘Dari’ this month?