2-23 May 2024
Art Galleries of the Malta Society of Arts, Palazzo de La Salle, 219, Republic Street, Valletta
www.sjfuerst.com | @sjfuerst | Images here (all credited to SJ Fuerst)
www.artsmalta.org | @maltasocietyofarts
Gimme Some Sugar is a solo exhibition by American figurative painter SJ Fuerst that playfully celebrates candy’s presence in pop culture. The paintings are bright, humorous, and seductive, what better way to represent society’s love affair with sugar? The show is pure joy, but not quite as innocent as the candy coating suggests.
Hosted at the prestigious and historical Malta Society of Arts in Valletta, the exhibition will take place from Thursday 2nd – Thursday 23rd May 2024.
The third solo exhibition by American figurative painter SJ Fuerst, Gimme Some Sugar explores the irresistible appeal of sugar and candy, and its immense and complex presence in our society. While its surface image of is one of innocence and fun, this transforms in adulthood to become metaphors for everything adults desire: love, sex, money, drugs, even happiness itself.
Wittily addressing and subverting themes from gender stereotypes to consumer culture to the very concept of art objects, Gimme Some Sugar is thoroughly modern, applying traditional, photorealistic figurative and still life painting to contemporary topics of interest.
SJ’s work is beautiful and funny, and can be found in private collections all over the world. Drawing from fashion, pop art, and contemporary culture, Fuerst’s paintings create a surreal world where the animals are inflatable and the women feel so real you expect them to wink at you. SJ’s work often has a dark undercurrent, but it’s carefully entwined with a playful innocence.
Notes to Editors
Please contact Midas PR for further information including press images and interview requests:
Jane Lau: Jane.Lau@midaspr.co.uk
Listings Information
Event: Gimme Some Sugar: An exhibition by SJ Fuerst
Admission: FREE Entry
Address: Art Galleries of the Malta Society of Arts, Palazzo de La Salle, 219 Republic Street, Valletta
Images: here (all credited to SJ Fuerst)
Website: www.artsmalta.org
Social Media: @maltasocietyofarts (Instagram)
About SJ Fuerst
SJ Fuerst was born in Connecticut, USA, and studied painting in New York at Pratt Institute School of Art and Design, Florence at the Florence Academy of Art, and finally in London at the London Atelier of Representational Art. Fuerst moved from London to Gozo in 2016, and was named by British GQ as one of the 15 best artists working today.
Website: www.sjfuerst.com
Social Media: @sjfuerst (Instagram)
About the Malta Society of Arts
The Malta Society of Arts was established in 1852 and is Malta’s oldest institution for the promotion of the arts. The first home of the Society was Palazzo Xara in St. Lucy Street, Valletta. In 1923, the Society was granted the lease of Palazzo de La Salle in Republic Street – one of the grand palaces built by the Knights of St John during the 17th century. Over the decades, the Society gave many of Malta’s best-known artists bursaries, mentorship and a space to exhibit in. The history of the Society is deeply intertwined with, amongst others, Malta’s Modern Art movements, and has been associated with varied high profile Maltese artists.
