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Cumulus


  • Valletta Contemporary (map)

History has preserved the collections of several prominent collectors, their discerning eye, measured taste and connoisseurship assembles the finest pieces under a single roof. This collection, draws together the work of 29 radically different artists from across the globe, including Gilbert and George, Ai Weiwei and Tracey Emin among several others. The thread which connects the artists’ work is the collector, namely Norbert Francis Attard.

The work presented in this exhibition, is a reflection of the collector’s attuned eye. Not connected thematically and eclectic by its very nature, it represents a collection which has grown organically, slowly over decades. The exhibition illustrates his ever-evolving tastes, his varying interests thus capturing moments in time.

The exhibition’s title is firmly grounded in the definition of the word Cumulus. The word has two varying meanings, one referring to an "accumulation" or "a collection of several things grouped together as a whole." Its second meaning, though loosely connected, touches on a specific type of cloud formation. Derived from the Latin word "cumulus," meaning "heap" or "pile," cumulus clouds are detached, individual, cauliflower-shaped clouds typically seen in fair weather conditions. When illuminated by the sun, the tops of these clouds are brilliant white tufts, though their bases are often relatively dark. The two definitions capture the very essence behind this collective exhibition.