‘The Universal Man’: Cristian Sammut’s debut exhibition explores the profoundly human in Mqabba this July
An exploration of what happens when art doesn't follow the rules.
This July, Il-Kamra ta’ Fuq in Mqabba becomes the setting for a powerful exploration of humanity through art, as Cristian Sammut presents his debut solo exhibition, ‘The Universal Man’.
Running from 18th July to 3rd August, and curated by Melanie Erixon, the exhibition promises a visceral and thought-provoking journey into the essence of what it means to be human.
In ‘The Universal Man’, Cristian strips back representation to its most elemental forms. Drawing inspiration from early cave art, his expressive and gestural portraits are painted entirely from life, yet they are deliberately devoid of identity. Instead of specific people, we are shown universal archetypes: figures that echo all of us, untethered from age, culture, or background.
These aren't portraits in the traditional sense. They are impressions of being, rendered in oil and acrylic with a bold, unfiltered energy. Alongside the portraits, fragmented limbs and abstract figures emerge and dissolve across the canvas – sometimes fluid, sometimes heavy and solid – leaving only the suggestion of movement or memory behind.
Through this primal and instinctive approach, the artist doesn’t just ask how we represent the human form, but why we feel the need to do so at all.
A self-taught artist and trained architect, Cristian Sammut blends figurative work with abstraction in a way that feels deeply emotional and instinctive. His art is informed by raw mark-making traditions, the subconscious, and the spontaneity of outsider art.
Living between London and Malta, Cristian’s artistic ethos is rooted in authenticity. His previous architectural work dealt with collective expression through ornamentation—an idea that now finds its way into his painting practice, where shared human experiences take center stage. His paintings, much like his architectural influences, are acts of pure creation, made not to be understood, but to be felt.
This exhibition invites us to reconnect with something ancient, unspoken, and shared. ‘The Universal Man’ is for those curious about what lies beneath the surface of human identity and those who appreciate the unrefined beauty of intuitive creation.
Will you be there?