“Someone once told me “You must be brave to work with images”. “
Why?” I asked.
“Because this world is flooded with images” was the reply.
I
am not so sure about how brave I am, but I was always drawn to visual representations, in particular those created by hand. The handmade image. I come from a background of art conservation and restoration. That was my first education.
While restoration teaches me a lot, technically speaking, I always felt the urge to create my own work and tell my own stories.
The process of creating a painting requires a degree of attention from its conception to its final touches. When a work hangs, it is a silent statement. It carries the painter’s commitment and focus, but also his flaws and humanity.”
Born in 1983 in Malta, Dominique Ciancio works as a freelance artist. Ciancio graduated in History of Art and Philosophy at the University of Malta in 2004 and completed a four year diploma course in Fine Arts at the Malta School of Art. He went on to work with theatre and film and joined the Art Department at Universal Studios Inc. in 2005 where he worked on productions with notable film directors such as Steven Spielberg. At the age of 26 Ciancio transitioned on to painting full time while living for 5 years in Oslo, Norway. Gradually he also shifted his creative focus to a series of interdisciplinary projects combining picture and sound. Some notable collaborations with UK sound artist Justin Wiggan include The Idiot, Factotum, USA in 2013 and Sword Fighting Jazz, Birmingham, UK in 2014. Other solo projects: 2008 WIRE, Schonings Gate Oslo, Norway / 2010 The Curious, Cittadella, Gozo Malta / 2011 Silent Pulses, Palazzo Ferreria, Malta / 2013 Malerier, Galleri Taide, Telemark, Norway / 2014 UNPACK - a visio-phonic experience at Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta, Malta / Semartilma - Dissolving Borders at Arte Gallery, Gozo / In 2015 selected to create seven murals for Esplora Interactive Science Centre, Bighi, Malta / 2016 saw his collaboration with Spright-Art, on AJITP, The Hague, Netherlands / 2019 - TATOM - The Anachronistic Thoughts Of Man, Arte Gallery, Gozo, Malta / 2021 - Return Island, Malta Society of Arts, Palazzo de La Salle, Valletta, Malta.