Rooting his expressionistic paintings in social commentary and self-examination, Antony Micallef is a traditional artist whose bright color sometimes belies the troubling nature of his imagery. Figures and faces emerge from Micallef’s veils of loose, abstract brushstrokes, recalling the figurative work of Francis Bacon, Brad Holland, and Ralph Steadman. Micallef derives his visual language from the Old Masters, graffiti, fashion magazines, corporate iconography, and Japanese cartoons. "The trouble with pop imagery is that it doesn't really go deeper than the surface," he says. "You have to drag it down and challenge it to make it interesting, marry contrasting emotions and motifs. The union of two opposites make an intriguing and strange chemistry."