Biography
Patrick Fenech is a practising artist and photographer and works mainly from his studio in Senglea, an old fortified city in the Grand Harbour of Malta. He is a visiting lecturer of photography at the Faculty of Art Education at the University of Malta and is an active member of ‘Start’, a contemporary art group.
Fenech started to take pictures which reflected his search for artistic expression. His early works, the majority of them in black and white, are mainly based on a social documentary of the Maltese Islands in the early 80s. His enthusiasm for photography was fueled further by the visit of Mr Petr Tausk from the photography department of the Faculty of Arts at University of Prague who saw Fenech’s early works and acquired a few prints for his own collection. Petr Tausk published some important books on 20th century photography and introduced Fenech to Sue Davis at the time director of the Photographers Gallery in London. Fenech soon realized the potential of photography in artistic practice and started to produce works such as the ‘Latent Aggression’ series and ‘Cradles of Elegance’.
In 1984 Fenech was awarded a scholarship by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura to study photography in Italy and during his four year stay, produced a series of works which mainly portrayed time and traces of memory called “Via delle Cento Stelle, No.13” series. He was official photographer for ‘Musicus Concertus’ of Florence and photographed various personalities such as Lorin Mazel, Barbara Hendrix and Alirio Diaz. In Milan, the Maltese opera singer Miriam Gauci introduced him to the back stage scene of La Scala.
After completing his studies in Italy, Fenech moved to London for a while where he practised printing at Camberwell School of Art and then back to Malta were he set up his own studio of photography and design servicing clients in the media industry. He then moved on to the publishing industry were he was engaged as art director on several art and cultural publications. His involvement in photography has taken his work around the globe with group and individual exhibitions. He has conducted a series of photography workshops and curated his first photography exhibition ‘Pictures in My Mind’ as part of the EU campaign for the ‘Year of Intercultural Dialogue’. The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts invited him to curate the visual art exhibition for the Summer Art Festival in 2009.
For the past three decades, Patrick Fenech has used his camera for what has been called absorptive scrutiny. He has simultaneously looked at, around and through his subjects to compose a fascinating and dizzying tapestry of composite and montage photography. Although his work is mainly photography based, Fenech also produces sculpture, video and installations. His works can be found in state, private and public collections.
CV
Selected exhibitions since 1999
one-man and group shows
'IN THE LOOP' - Contemporary Art Video from 27 EU Countires at the
Smithsonian, National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC. - 6 -12 June 2010.
'TRACES' - Installation at K2 Contemporary Art Centre, Konak, Izmir, Turkey - 10-31 May 2010.
'ENCOUNTER WITH A SIREN' - Izmir University of Economics, Balcova, Izmir, Turkey - May 2010.
CAOCHANGDI PHOTOSPRING 2010 at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre Beijing - China - April 2010.
6TH BIENNALE MEDITERRANEENNE DES ARTS de la Ville de Tunis - April 2010.
'GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES' - Collective concurrent with the Armory Show, NYC - March 2010.
'5 INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS' - M. Zimmermann Gallery, Hamburg - October 2009.
'WORKS ON PAPER" - NYARTS PAVILION concurrent with 53 rd Venice Biennale - June to November 2009.
'WE ARE ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS NOW' - NYPHOTO Festival - New York - May 2009.
'HERE, THERE & EVERYWHERE' - Anticipating the Art of the Future - Suffolk University Law School - Boston MA - April 2009.
MODERNIST MALTA Architectural Legacy, Photography Exhibition, St James Cavalier, Valletta - January 2009.
EIGHT EIGHTEEN - 18 contemporary artists a Start project at MCA (Malta ContemporaryArts), Marsa - December 2008.
NUIT BLANCHE PARIS - Photographical Identities of Europe - Paris - 4 October 2008.
LES RECONTRES D'ARLES - Photographical Identities of Europe, Arles, France. 9 July - 14 September 2008.
MALTA ARTS FESTIVAL - Two Maltese Artists, Richard England and Patrick Fenech. Auberge d'Italie, Valletta. Malta Arts Council - July 2008
LAMOA - International Contemporary Art group show, Pomona CA., USA (JAN 2008)
BIENNALE INTERNAZIONALE DELL’ARTE CONTEMPORANEA - Florence, Italy (Dec 2007)
"APPLE II', BROADWAY GALLERY - NYC (May 2007)
NYARTS GALLERY - Beijing, China - “Apple II” 10 International Artists (March - April 2007)
COLOR ELEFANTE GALERIA - Valencia, Spain - “Apple II - Temptation” (Jan -Feb 2007)
25 YEARS 25 ARTISTS, Middle Sea Insurance 25th anniversary exhibition of contemporary art (JULY 2006)
BROADWAY GALLERY - 473, Broadway NYC - “Apple - Temptation” (2006)
GOZO CONTEMPORARY - Gharb. Art residency, cactus installation "99%” (2006)
"WAITING FOR COLUMBUS' Auberge d’Italie, Valletta - Ministry for Tourism and Culture - Photography, Sculpture and Objects. (2006)
MONTSERRAT GALLERY, 547 West 27th Str. NYC - Photography Composites (2006)
“BLITZ” - Contemporary Art, installation to commemorate 60 anniversary of WWII at the Birgu Wartime Shelters (supported by Malta Arts Council) (2005).
WOBURN FINE ARTS, London - Photography Boat Yard Composites (2004).
“BORDERS” - Contemporary art installation to inaugurate Malta’s entry in the EU. at the Valletta Waterfront supported by MAC and Vodafone. (2003)
“CITY SPACES” - Contemporary Art show YMCA project, Valletta (2002)
'NOONTIME IN THE BOATYARD, Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta - Photography Composites (2001)
“ART IN MALTA TODAY” - St James Cavalier Art Centre, Valletta (2000)
Selected exhibitions before 1999one-man and group shows
Hannover Fair, Germany - Malta Pavilion Contemporary Art - B.Y. Comp. (1999)
Manoel Theatre Gallery - “Beyond the Tourist Gaze”, B&W Photographs (1993)
Dar Anona Gallery, Castille - Colour photographs “Pop Art in the City” (1990)
“North and South” - Colour photographs with Janke de Vries, Holland (1989)
Museum of Fine Arts, Valletta - Colour photog. “Cradles of Elegance” (1985)
F64 Gallery - kinetic art photographs B & W - Florence (1985)
Mediterranean Arts Festival - Black and White photographs - Algiers (1984)
Malta International Arts Festival - Museum of Archeology - Valletta (1984)
Morozov Palace, Moscow - “Beyond the Tourist Gaze” B&W photographs (1984)
Shuvalov Palace, Leningrad - “Beyond the Tourist Gaze” B&W photog. (1984)
“Young Maltese Photographers” Gallerija Fenici, Valletta (1983)
Gallerija Fenici, Valletta - “Caged Spaces” (Malta) B&W (1982)
Conferences/Workshops
Participated in ISIDEM workshops funded by the EU, conducted by Portugese contemporary artist Sancho Silva and Salvatore Lacagnina director of Siracuse Contemporary Art Museum together with a workshop by Portugese curator Nuno Faria of the Gulbenkian Institute, Lisbon. (2007)
Year for Intercultural Dialogue - photography workshops for young maltese students and young people from diverse minor communities in Malta. A project funded by the EU. (2008)
Attended a three day conference 'International Opportunity for the Arts - Anticpating the Art of the Future' in Boston MA. (2009)
Books/Catalogues
'In The Loop'. Video Art From the EU Countries, Smithsonian NPG.
Image Et Mirage, 6th Med Biennale catalogue (ECUME/Marseille)
Modernist Malta, Architects Chamber Malta.
Here, There & Everywhere 2009 catalogue (Transcultural/Boston MA)
'Cross Currents' - Critical essays on Art and Culture in Malta (Allied publications)
Richard England + Patrick Fenech catalogue, Arts Festival Malta (MCCA)
Florence Biennale 2008 official Publication (Studio Arte slr)
25 Years 25 Artists (MidSea Insurance plc)
“Blitz” contemporary art publication (Start)
“Borders” contemporary art publication (Start)
“Art in Malta Today” publication (St James Centre for Creativity)
The Photographers of Malta, Prof Margaret Harker Farrand (FPM)
Journal of Mediterranean Studies (University of Malta)
The International Dictionary of Artists who Painted Malta (AVC)
“Noontime in the Boatyard” exhibition publication (Chamleon).
Prize/Awards
Awarded a Malta Art Fund to promote fine art photography, 2010.
Best portrait video art to represent Malta at the National Portrait gallery in Washignton DC., 2010.
First prize for Photography LAMOA contemporary art 2008.
First prize for Best Poster Design (AAAwards) 1992.
Phoenicia Trade Trophy Cultural Award by the State of Malta 1982.
Press Articles
Newspapers: Malta Today, Times of Malta, The Independent on Sunday.
The Independent on Sunday article on photographer Geo Furst - “Nostalgias” publication.
Magazines: First (Independent); Air Malta ‘In Flight’, Malta Now (Malta Today);
Grip Magazine (Malta International Airport); NYARTS magazine Vol. 11 no7/8;
Art Fairs International Vol. 2 #5/6; NYARTS directory Vol.11 no 11/12 pg 211
NYARTS magazine Vol.11 no 11/12 pg 107.
NYARTS magazine Vol.12 no 9/10 pg 98/99. NYARTS magazine No11/12 2007 pg 180.
Victoire magz of Le Soir newspaper Belgium 08DEC 2007 pg 100
Collections
Farsons Foundation
French Embassy
Malta International Airport
Atlas Insurance plc
Middle Sea Valletta Life Insurance
PC Corporate services Ltd
Citadel Insurance plc
State collection, Malta
Private collections.