Victor Pasmore (1908-1998)
"What I have done is not the process of abstraction from nature but a method of constructing from within."1
Victor Pasmore (1908-1998) has long been considered as a leading protagonist of the 20th Century modern art movement. Born in Chelsham, England, in 1908, Pasmore pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. In 1966, Pasmore purchased a farmhouse in Malta - where he resided and created several paintings and constructions - until his demise in 1998.
In 2014, the Central Bank of Malta and the Victor Pasmore Foundation embarked on setting up the Victor Pasmore Gallery, an exhibition of the works of Pasmore as a collaborative project that was housed within the historic walls of Valletta. The collection was officially opened to the public on 3 November 2014.
The works displayed essentially traced Pasmore's move from relief-painting and constructions to painting, while revealing an unbridled fascination with the poetic language of opposites, symbolism and metaphor - all of which are components forming part of an ongoing 'developing process' which Pasmore religiously followed until the end.
The collection displayed paintings and constructions which Pasmore created during his time in Malta, in conjunction with a small number of works created a few years earlier. The Central Bank of Malta was proud to host the collection within its historic premises at the Polverista, presenting the life and works of Pasmore to the public.
Further to an agreement with the Victor Pasmore Foundation, on the 18 December 2020, the collection was handed over to Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti. It is Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti's aim, as managers of the artworks, to relocate the collection to new premises for permanent display and henceforth continue to research and promote the important cultural legacy that Victor Pasmore had on Malta and his Maltese contemporaries.
The Central Bank of Malta, having manifested over the years its support in the conservation and promotion of Pasmore's works locally, remains committed to perpetuate Pasmore's artistic legacy.
The Central Bank of Malta holds four works by Pasmore in its collection.
1. Victor Pasmore, The Artist Speaks, BBC, aired on 15 August 1950
 |
 |
|
Science and Faith (1993)
Travertine Sculpture
315 x 146 x 48cm
|
Faith and Reason (1993)
Travertine Sculpture
315 x 146 x 48cm
|
Senza titolo 7 (1989) – Etching and aquatint, 60.2 x 214 cm
Senza titolo 12 (1992) – Etching and aquatint, 63.5 x 237 cm