Mario Lautier Vella

I'm inspired by the curious, esoteric and uncanny in our everyday lives – when the familiar becomes unfamiliar, when we look and are looked at, speculation, suggestion and second guessing – and how all of this is experienced, recorded and recalled.

My work explores ideas around presence and absence, invasion and evasion, protection, surveillance, identity, intimacy and the space between our public and private lives.

Snatched glimpses, fleeting images, murmurs, memories and a sensation of constant flux all leave their mark.

The use of human and animal forms, masks, concealment, alter-egos, personas and multiples add a sense of play and suggestion, and allow for further narratives and interpretations to emerge.

Born in Malta, I work in London and Hertfordshire. As a cross-disciplinary artist, my practice incorporates drawing, collage, painting, photography, video, sound, sculpture, installation, book arts and performance.

Regular teaching and talks also allow me to share and develop my ideas and interests further. I'm also the founder and director of The Fine Art Room - an art school based primarily in Ealing with courses and events taking place across London and abroad -

– MA Art and Media Practice – University Of Westminster, London (2010- 2012). Distinction.
– The City Lit Fine Art Course, City Lit, London (2009 – 2010).
– BA (Hons.) Technical Communication (Information Design) – Coventry University (1994-1997). First.

Selected exhibitions and events

2017
– Myth & Lore, Styx, London (group)
– Collage and mixed media course exhibition, Open Ealing, Orchard Cafe, London – curator
– Autumn Learn to Draw course exhibition, Open Ealing, Orchard Cafe, London – curator
– Summer Learn to Draw course exhibition, Open Ealing, Orchard Cafe, London – curator
– Homebodies, Watford Museum, Watford, Hertfordshire (solo)
– The Aldenham Art Festival, Aldenham, Hertfordshire (group)
– Small Is Beautiful, Open Ealing, Orchard Cafe, London – curator + judge on competition judging panel
– Home Truths, Peter Ingram Gallery, Frogmore Paper Mill, Apsley, Hertfordshi

2016
– USB-Shuffle-Show (Four), Institut für Alles Mögliche, Berlin (group)
– Photography, Nude Tin Can Gallery, St Albans, Hertfordshire (group)
– Shakespeare, Watford Museum, Watford, Hertfordshire (group)
– The 32nd CGP London Annual Open Exhibition, Cafe Gallery, Southwark Park, London (group)
– Painting course exhibition, Open Ealing, Orchard Cafe, London – curator

2015
– USB-Shuffle-Show (Three), Institut für Alles Mögliche, Berlin (group)
– Off The Wall, Rebel Pebble, Watford, Hertfordshire (group)
– The Stranger That Is Next To Me, Autonomous Cultural Social Centre, Skopje, ...