Collective Exhibition | Brief and Never Ending 1-23 MAY 2026

Curated by                    Emma Weller
Venue:                            Christine X Art Gallery, 53, Tigne street, Sliema, SLM 3141
Dates:                             1st -23rd May 2026
Opening:                       Friday 1st May 2026 at 7pm
Opening hours:           Tuesday to Saturday 10am-1pm, 4-7pm 

Artists:                         
Emma Weller |  Hallgrímur Helgason  |  Jessica DeMers  | Joana Simaes  |  Kika Sroka-Miller  |  Maria Wrona  |  Martina Vassallo  |  May Franzen  |  Nathan Portelli  |  Shanice Farrugia  |  Eric Attard

Brief and Never Ending evolved from the first edition of LateNightPrompts, an online creative project and international networking platform for artists. For this edition, a selected group of Maltese and international artists were invited to respond to the prompt The Passing of Time, resulting in a diverse body of work that culminates in an exhibition at Christine X Gallery.

Across the exhibition, time is approached through multiple lenses: as something measured, as a force that alters matter through exposure and duration, and as a deeply subjective experience shaped by memory and identity. Some artworks engage with repetition and constraint, others observe gradual transformation, while several reflect on desires to preserve time or regain control over it. Certain works raise questions of visibility and transition, while others mourn a sense of loss associated with time’s passing.

The works span brutalist minimalism, abstraction, urban and figurative practices, reflecting the plurality of ways in which time can be encountered and interpreted. Bringing together artists from Malta, Iceland, USA, Portugal, Poland, Germany and UK, the exhibition bridges international contemporary art scenes and presents time as both fleeting and continuous, brief and never ending.

Please find all the artworks on our Artsy online viewing room here:
https://www.artsy.net/viewing-room/christine-x-art-gallery-brief-and-never-ending-a-collective-art-exhibition-ae14b2e5-f466-4f0b-9e95-a3e5d998be57?nocache=true
or on our online BRIEF & NEVER ENDING shop page here:
https://www.christinexart.com/product-category/brief-and-never-ending

Joana Simães is a Portuguese visual artist who explores the subtleties of human experience through painting and video art. She moved to London in 2020 to pursue a Fine Art degree at Middlesex University, graduating in 2023. Since then, Simães has exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery and other London venues, and has been nominated for the Freelands Art Prize, the New Blood Emerging Art Prize and the Winchester Art Prize.

Nathan Portelli is a Maltese visual artist whose practice explores identity, place and transformation. He works between Malta and London and holds a BA in History of Art from the University of Malta. Portelli’s work is rooted in his connection to Gozo Island and his concern for humanity’s impact on it. Working mainly with cement, he reflects on the pressures shaping the island’s cultural and natural landscapes, alongside more recent spiritual and metaphysical themes.

Jessica DeMers is an American multidisciplinary artist who engages with themes of archetypes and mortality to navigate concepts of identity, transformation and the human condition. With a double major in Fiber Art and Fine Art, experience as an international educator, and collaborations with artists worldwide, DeMers brings an interdisciplinary perspective when merging the universal with the personal. 

Shanice Farrugia is a Maltese multidisciplinary artist whose work explores perception and identity through self-portraits and depictions of loved ones. Farrugia holds a First Class B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art from MCAST and has exhibited in Europe and the UK. In 2024, she was nominated for Best Artist-Illustrator at the Lovin Malta Awards. In 2025, Farrugia received The Gallery and People’s Choice Award at Green & Stone, Chelsea, and featured in the ARTIT publication Portrait Artists of the Year.

May Franzen is a German artist whose practice intersects politics, ecology and the subconscious. Using bold illustration as a tool for political storytelling, Franzen seeks to challenge anthropocentrism and inspire new perspectives on the natural world. The artists graphic novel Between Animals was awarded the SPOTLIGHT JUGEND Ideenpreis for its political standpoint and has been published and circulated internationally.

Emma Weller is an English visual artist whose practice spans sculpture, painting and digital drawing. Interested in deep states of mind, Weller often employs exaggeration and distortion to reflect broader social and human concerns. Weller holds a First Class B.A. (Hons) from the University of Westminster, a Diploma in Sculpture at the Working Men’s College and an MA in Fine Art from the University of Malta. Weller has exhibited and curated in UK and Malta.

Maria Wrona is a Polish abstract minimalist artist who explores the tensions between form and space, inviting contemplation of the subtle structures that shape perception. Influenced by Russian Suprematism and Polish Colourism, her practice is guided by reduction. Wrona trained at the Comprehensive School of Fine Arts in Lubin, holds a BA in Fine Art from Aberystwyth University, and has exhibited across Europe, sharing her visual language with diverse audiences.

Eric Attard is a Maltese artist with a background in Philosophy and Education, whose practice is influenced by the Italian Renaissance and the French Symbolist movement. Exploring the impact of contemporary socio-political realities on the individual, his artworks offer an escape into mythology and symbolism. Attard has exhibited in collaborative showcases throughout Malta and presented his solo exhibition, Hedymeles, in 2025.

Hallgrímur Helgason is an award-winning Icelandic author and visual artist who has published twelve works, translated into over twenty languages worldwide. He studied at the Art and Crafts School of Iceland in Reykjavík and the Akademie für die Bildenden Künste in Germany. Working figuratively in acrylic on canvas and marker on paper, his work is imbued with narrative qualities and has been exhibited extensively on an international scale.

Kika Sroka-Miller is a London-based artist whose paintings explore how dualisms, opposites and binaries dominate our understanding of the world, and ourselves. Their work has been shortlisted for the Waverton Art Prize and featured in Art on a Postcard’s Tenth Anniversary Auction and the Assembly House Trust Biennial. They are currently enrolled at Turps Painting School, London, and are the founder of Blue Parlour. Sroka-Miller holds a Master’s in Gender and Sexuality from Birkbeck, University of London.

Martina Vassallo is a Maltese multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans installation, painting and sculpture. She holds a B.A. (Hons) in 3D Design and Interiors from MCAST, Malta, and is currently completing an M.A. in Fine Arts at the University of Malta. Micallef has participated in collective exhibitions in Malta, and her work draws upon her background in 3D design and fine arts to explore the intersection of beauty and social commentary.