This extensively illustrated monograph is the first volume of three that will survey the paintings of the artist Dennis Spiteri. It traces the evolution of his abstract language through the simple geometrical imagery he began to develop in his final year at art school in 1969, through to the more powerful, complex images of the later 1970’s.

Classical music informs most of his work. Each of the series of paintings he has produced have had particular music at their core. Beginning with his Baroque Riddle Suite in 1970 (inspired by the discovery of Beethoven’s music), to his current series A Mass of Life (inspired by the choral work of the same name by Frederick Delius).

This is a unique document, with the text written by the artist, giving a very personal account of his journey through the creative process. This volume also contains the many preliminary drawings he did for the finished paintings – they show a complex mind with a particular vision at work – a mind that is also united irrevocably to a heart.

About the Author

Dennis Spiteri was born in Malta in 1948 and migrated to Australia in 1954. He completed his art studies in 1969 at the National Gallery Art School in Melbourne, Victoria and has been painting ever since. He has also written and published a novel Confronting Mephistopheles. He lives in the Highlands in country Victoria about two hours north of Melbourne, where he has built a large studio / gallery to produce and exhibit his work.