Exhibitions
Reggie Burrows Hodges turns his attention to Malta
The Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) in Floriana is hosting Reggie Burrows Hodges: Mela , the American artist's first solo exhibition in Europe, until August 30. The show brings together more than thirty previously unseen works created during his stay in Malta in 2025, a period in which Hodges immersed himself in the island's culture, history, and landscapes.
Curated by Edith Devaney, artistic director of MICAS, the exhibition occupies the center's four main floors and features some of the largest paintings the artist has created to date. The collection reflects how his Maltese experience has expanded a practice marked by memory, human dignity, labor, and seemingly everyday moments.
Born in 1965 in Compton, California, Reggie Burrows Hodges is recognized for a unique pictorial language that blends references from theater, film, and art history. His compositions typically begin with a black background upon which carefully constructed figures, spaces, and garments appear, creating scenes in which light and darkness play an essential role.
The exhibition's title takes its starting point from one of the most common words in Maltese speech, 'mela', frequently used before expressing an idea or continuing a conversation. Hodges found in this expression a gateway to the local context and an artistic experience based on observation and immersion.
The rugged coastline, the Mediterranean, the architecture, and the ways of working that have helped transform the Maltese landscape thus appear as central elements in the new paintings. The artist incorporates these references into a broader exploration of human resilience, effort, and dignity.
One of the exhibition's most outstanding works also establishes a direct dialogue with Caravaggio and his celebrated The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist , painted during the Italian artist's exile in Malta. Hodges's work responds to this historical precedent with a monumental painting conceived both in scale and form as a tribute, but filtered through his own visual language and contemporary concerns.
The work also revisits his well-known series Labor , this time focusing on the workers involved in the construction and transformation of the Maltese urban environment. The scenes connect the physical exertion of these workers with the island's architectural history and with the relationship between territory, survival, and labor.
Alongside these works, Hodges presents a series of seascapes inspired by the waters surrounding Malta and his interest in the stories and mythologies linked to the sea. Buoys, coastlines, bathing huts, and swimming pools become recurring motifs that evoke both ancient social practices and new forms of belonging.
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