John Grech’s first solo exhibition in 2005 proved to be a watershed in his artistic life. Although far from being the birth of his passion for the art, this event affirms that his serious, long standing search and exploration of the artistic medium had its own voice.
As a photographer, Grech’s repertoire of interests is richly diversified. In his work, he has explored themes such as landscape, nude, abstract and dance. Although they can be perceived as four separate categories, there is a thread which runs through and connects many pieces of Grech’s work. In fact, it is precisely these divisions that Grech eschews. There is no separation in the treatment of his landscapes, nudes*, and his dance* images, for all of them flirt, at times very intimately, with the abstract idiom, which the photographer has used to produce some of his most poetic pieces. What distinguishes Grech’s work is its suggestiveness, its ability to establish contact not between the image and the viewer’s eyes, but between the “soul” of the image and the viewer’s. Perhaps like many artists, he is researching his own soul, and this can be vividly seen in the treatment of his subjects and his way of connecting with his audience.
That his lens should gravitate towards this discipline of dance was a natural development, which stemmed from his exploration of the nude figure. The photographer’s love of the language of the body leaps out of his images in both his nudes and dance works. The artist’s theatrical experience and education in philosophy have certainly helped to mould his work.
* not present in this collection
