The Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) is currently hosting A New Life Force, a major exhibition featuring new works by painters Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Kemi Onabulé, and Megan Rooney. Curated by MICAS Artistic Director Edith Devaney, the exhibition explores how contemporary women artists integrate local geography and cultural heritage into modern painting practices.
How site-specific inspiration shapes contemporary painting
Artists are increasingly moving away from studio-bound abstraction to incorporate the specific environmental and historical markers of the locations where they work. According to MICAS, each of the three featured artists traveled to Malta to create new bodies of work specifically informed by the island’s culture, history, and geography.
Megan Rooney, a Canadian artist based in London, focused on the interplay between the island’s light and its ancient history. Rooney’s process involves physically demanding layering, sanding, and re-applying paint. For this exhibition, she utilized the “floating walls” and glass-ceiling architecture of the MICAS galleries to mimic the shifting natural light she observed in the Maltese landscape. By grounding her practice in the physical reality of the museum space, Rooney’s work serves as a case study in how contemporary artists use architecture to frame narratives about memory and the natural world.
Megan Rooney’s practice is multidisciplinary, spanning painting, installation and performance. Her technique often involves “accumulations of gesture and colour” that require significant physical labor to achieve the final, vivid intensity seen in her canvases.
Why museums are shifting toward artist-led dialogues
Modern museum curation is evolving from static displays to active, dialogue-driven environments. Edith Devaney, the Artistic Director of MICAS, curated the exhibition to foster international conversations by placing three distinct visual languages in a shared space. The MICAS gallery layout, designed by Paris-based Cécile Degos, uses a terrace-like configuration that allows visitors to observe and experience both the distinctions and resonances between the artists’ works.
This design choice creates a dynamic conversation between their practices. While each occupies a dedicated space, the open architecture encourages observers to spot resonances between their methods. By supporting the creation of entirely new bodies of work, institutions like MICAS are acting as active participants in the evolution of contemporary art rather than just curators of finished products.
What defines the next generation of painting?
The “next generation” of painters is defined by a synthesis of diverse cultural backgrounds and a refusal to adhere to a singular, rigid style. The works of Herbelin, Onabulé, and Rooney demonstrate how heritage can coexist with contemporary visual languages.
Pro Tip: When viewing contemporary exhibitions, look for the “physicality” of the paint. Artists like Rooney, who sand back layers of pigment, are often leaving a trail of their process that tells the story of the work’s creation as much as the final image does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the theme of A New Life Force at MICAS?
The exhibition focuses on the work of three painters—Nathanaëlle Herbelin, Kemi Onabulé, and Megan Rooney—and how their distinct visual languages are shaped by their cultural backgrounds and their engagement with Malta’s local history, culture and geography.
Who curated the exhibition?
The exhibition was curated by Edith Devaney, the Artistic Director of MICAS.
How does the exhibition design influence the visitor experience?
Designed by Cécile Degos, the exhibition uses a terrace-like layout across three gallery floors. This configuration allows visitors to see the distinctions and connections between the artists’ works, facilitating a “dynamic conversation” between their unique practices.
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