10 Questions with Josef Gatti Buontempo

Josef Gatti Buontempo (b. 1976, Malta) is an Italo-Maltese visual artist and poet who lives and works in Saint Julian’s, Malta. He has a B.A. in Italian and History from the University of Malta in 1998, and a Graduate Diploma in International Relations from London School of Economics in 2014.

@josefgattib

ARTIST STATEMENT

Gatti Buontempo works predominantly in digital and analogue collages creating images that are aggregated reflections on contemporary life and visual culture. He blends references to current affairs, politics, and fashion, working with printed matter and onscreen imagery. His compositions are in constant dialogue with an art-historical lineage of painting, thinking through the conventions of landscape, figuration, portraiture, and iconography. Abstraction, pattern, and text are all used, in different ways, for both their graphic presence and narrative contribution to the works. The textual selections, in particular, move from concrete poetry to pictorial elements, relating diversely to marketing slogans to considered private aspirations and to universal messages.

His works deal with the collision of modern living, capturing visual representations of travel, glamour, and health while bringing a spectrum of feelings related to our experience of life and marketing, including those around success, loneliness, financial security, and emotional wellbeing.

Photographs of nature and people are interwoven with diagrams, texture and colour. Each piece holds both complementary and contrasting imagery and symbolism, with celestial elements often combined with more earthly or rooted images. The resulting works have an evocative, filmic quality, carrying the imagination through notional points of narrative or to experience a fleeting moment in time.

Maximise your space, Collage on paper, 21x29.7 cm, 2020 © Josef Gatti Buontempo

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. You studied History and International Relations before turning to art. How did you start getting involved with art? And when did you realize you wanted to be an artist?

My name is Josef Gatti Buontempo, and I'm an Italo-Maltese visual artist and poet who lives and works in Malta. Before getting involved with art, I was writing poetry in Italian and taking part in any literary competition I could get hold of.
Each time I won an award or placed among the first three, I would do my best to travel to Italy. It was about meeting people sharing my same interests, and visiting the city, with its artistic value, its churches, and museums.
My big break happened when I placed first in a poetry competition organized by the Italian Cultural Institute in Naples, Italy. For years and years, I was feeding myself on art without yet being an artist but a poet.
Then it happened that I started to work on a small collaboration to create fifty small collages, postcard-sized collages. They had to be something handmade. That was my first attempt to create a paper collage. I simply fetched a pair of scissors, some glue and started right away.
Although the collaboration didn't lead anywhere, I had been practising with small images and details, which proved particularly useful. At that point, I realized I should work on collages on my own and create collages larger than a postcard. That's when I convinced myself to post my artwork on Instagram.
As time passed and the number of collages created was accumulating, I started to see myself as an artist. It had become a daily practice and it started becoming more important than my poetry and daily journaling.
I believe that wanting to become an artist is a matter of commitment. You need to accept that it is a different path compared to being an engineer or an architect. And I can't forget to mention Tim Maxwell (@maxwellinked) who, at the time, was a major source of advice and encouragement.

How much of your background do you put in your art? Does it influence your work, or are they completely separated?

You will not find much of my background in my artwork, even though International Relations was quite an enjoyable subject. Being an artist feels more satisfying than being a foreign policy analyst.
I prefer to think that my experiences influence me. Painful or joyful moments in life can shape a person and his artistic output. My collages reflect my dreams and my vision of the world.
Last year I worked on a series that I called "the new icon series", even though I'm not Orthodox. Since last November, some of my artwork has a slight Cretan inspiration because I got married on the island of Crete and spent several weeks over there.
It seems that beautiful surroundings influence me more than my background.

How would you define yourself as an artist? What differentiate you from the others?

I'm a self-taught independent artist following my own style. A poet who turned to collages to express himself visually.
Often, I get asked if my artwork is completely done on Photoshop simply because they notice a certain accuracy or seamless overlapping of images. The truth is that there is a patient creative process and a precision that resembles a surgical procedure. If you ever watched one of those how-to videos where they show how a collage is made, well, that is not my process.
I prefer to experiment and follow a personal style rather than following specific templates or methods. This decision doesn't always help because not everybody understands what I'm trying to do.

Don’t compromise, Collage on paper, 21x29.7 cm, 2020 © Josef Gatti Buontempo

You mostly work with collages, both digital and analogue. Why did you choose this technique? And what does it mean to you?

I wanted to choose a technique where I could experiment and form my own style. After all, I thought, there is no right or wrong. Collages were a perfect choice. It felt like a straightforward decision.
The next morning, I started creating my very first collage. There was no research or googling. You know, when I started writing poems, I wasn't someone who loved reading poetry. I suppose the same happened with collages.
The possibility of expressing myself, besides poetry, means a lot to me. Through art, I try to make sense of my life and this world. To me, it was a personal journey with the usual trial and error.

Where did you get your inspiration from, both visually and conceptually? Are there any artists or designers you particularly look up to?

Years ago, I was literally obsessed with Salvador Dali. Back in 2004, I had travelled to Venice to visit Dali's exhibition, and now I realize that was quite some years ago. While I look up to several artists, it isn't easy to say how much they influenced me. For example, the presence of a watch, or part of it, would surely be considered as inspired by Dali.
In the last few years, I was more interested in the works of Kazimir Malevich and Giorgio de Chirico.
During the pandemic period, I learned to get interested in artists I don't like or understand. Trying to get comfortable with the uncomfortable proved a useful exercise. Even an artist you dislike can trigger something in an artist's mind.
I can get inspired by a word, an image or part of it, a pattern, a contrast, or a feeling. Love and loneliness, current news, nature. Many things can be the sparkle for my next artwork.

Long life, Collage on paper, 21x29.7 cm, 2019 © Josef Gatti Buontempo

New world, Collage on paper, 21x29.7 cm, 2018 © Josef Gatti Buontempo

In your statement, you say "Each piece holds both complementary and contrasting imagery and symbolism, with celestial elements often combined with more earthly or rooted images." What messages do you want to convey with your work?

Some of my artwork has a clear message, especially when dealing with the environment and climate change. Those collages which are more on the abstract side are a bit trickier.
One message is that we should try harder to understand each other and other cultures.
We need to appreciate the beauty of our planet and the beauty in ourselves. And certainly, to take ourselves less seriously. Let's not forget that in the history of the universe, human beings occupy such a small part of that history. We represent a fragment of a fraction of the universe.

Tell us more about your creative process. What are the steps that lead you to the final work?

First of all, I try not to start and finish an artwork, in one go. I need to feel the certainty that it makes sense to me. I move away from my work in progress, and I try to visualize what the end result should look like.
I keep a list of images, words, and themes as a reference for lazy or busy days, so I know what to work on. Usually, I start from one image or a concept and build the whole collage. As I stated earlier, I don't follow any methods or templates or so-called "creative challenges" that seem quite popular on social media.
Maybe, I rely far too much on my visual memory. Normally I go through several magazines almost daily, so it feels that in the back of my mind, the images are stored in my memory. Sometimes I remember a specific image or pattern, and I know exactly where to find it. And that could be the beginning of a new work.
Also, I don't use an X-Acto knife and not even a typical pair of craft scissors.

Sagittarius, Collage on paper, 21x29.7 cm, 2018 © Josef Gatti Buontempo

What do you think of the art market and collectors? And how do you keep your collectors engaged in your work?

Covid and NFTs seem to have changed the market forever. Especially when galleries had to close, and physical exhibitions were halted. This was an unexpected change that nobody could predict. On the other hand, big changes always come unannounced.
Perhaps, "Everything must change for everything to remain the same." It still takes time and persistence to be noticed, to build relationships with collectors, and to be chosen for publication or a grant. Even new technologies have their limits, and when something is new, there is plenty of hype and marketing around it.

How do you keep up to date with the art world's recent changes? Do you participate in any online exhibition or use any online platform to promote your work?

To avoid the fear of missing out, I guess, it helps to keep in touch with other artists. You might find information relevant to them and vice versa. I find that there are many artists keen to give advice and help less experienced ones.
That's how I got introduced to the world of NFTs, through a friend who shared his experience and was ready to answer my questions. Follow too much of the latest art news, and you risk getting distracted.
I have taken part in virtual exhibitions, which, aided by the pandemic phase, sprang up like mushrooms. This is another sector that, perhaps, one day will have a more transparent offering. While it makes an artist happy to exhibit online, in many cases there is no specific data available or metrics to evaluate an exhibition's success.
As an online platform, I mainly use Instagram, even though I also have a presence on Twitter.

And lastly, what is one thing you would like to accomplish this year, career-wise?

If I had to choose one thing, it would be to publish a book with my collages and poems.

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