Between The Notes

by Olaug Vethal

• Intaglio print on paper with gold leaf
• 4/10 from Limited edition print/ 10
• 39.5cm by 53.55cm
• 50cm by 64.05cm framed
• 1984

In Between the Notes, Olaug Vethal reduces the jazz ensemble to an intricate network of fine, spontaneous lines. The musicians emerge and dissolve within one another, creating a visual rhythm that mirrors the improvisational nature of jazz. The freedom of line is particularly suited to intaglio processes, which can preserve the immediacy and fluidity of drawing.

Unlike The Resonance of Presence, there is no gold leaf to suggest an external or spiritual illumination. Instead, the metaphysical dimension lies in the empty spaces between the figures and between the notes. These silences become as significant as the marks themselves. Vethal captures something inherently intangible: music exists for a moment and then disappears.

The print becomes a meditation on presence and absence, suggesting that what connects us may reside not only in what can be seen or heard, but in the invisible spaces between one moment and the next.

This work is currently hung at Spazju A, Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta until 25th October 2026 as part of the exhibition ‘Beyond The Visible | The Metaphysical Worlds of Olaug Vethal, curated by Christine Xuereb and in collaboration with Christine X Art Gallery