With a long-established reputation, it is 20 years since Galeria Côrte-Real first brought international art to the Algarve. Over that time, the gallery has promoted the work of many celebrated artists and recent paintings by Mari Arp are no exception.
Currently on display at Côrte-Real’s original gallery in Paderne, the paintings can also be seen at the gallery’s new showroom in Olhão’s charming boutique hotel, Casa Amor.
Mari Arp’s lustrous portraits are of illustrious Hollywood stars and gorgeous billboard models. They are chosen for their natural beauty to become the centrepieces of larger-than-life portraits.
Although each face is a perfect likeness, Mari works like a make-up artist achieving a flawless quality by retouching the slightest imperfection of a smile or an expression. The overall appearance is delicate and unblemished with a degree of absolute perfection that is almost otherworldly.
To further enhance the image, the portrait is given a graphic or a multi-layered background. Mari uses a collage technique that includes acrylic sprays, pastels, fragile fabrics and gold leaf. Finally, the entire surface is given a fine coat of high sheen synthetic resin. The finished result is aesthetically attractive, gleaming like a polished mirror or a photograph from an exclusive glossy magazine.
Stimulated by her home base in Berlin, Mari Arp was discovered by the gallery owners of Côrte Real on a recent visit to the city. She is part of a hugely creative art scene that has grown in size since the 1990s; one of 20,000 artists that live in this dynamic and booming metropolis.
Statistics from a government report state there are 200 museums and art spaces, 400 art galleries, and that one in six Berlin companies work in the creative industries. The contemporary art sector alone generates €700 million every year.
It is impossible not to be inspired when living alongside a constant turn-around of cultural events, conventional and unconventional presentations. Mari’s artistic styles have gone through many phases benefiting from the ever-changing vibrant atmosphere that surrounds her; the street art of the East Side Gallery painted on the remnants of the Berlin Wall and permanent art collections housed in extraordinary buildings such as a margarine factory, a glass warehouse, a Nazi-era bunker and a former brewery.
It is hardly any wonder that the German capital is a magnet for contemporary artists and creatives such as Mari Arp. A sample of her multi-media paintings can be seen in the Algarve as selected by the owners of Côrte-Real.
The original gallery is signposted from Boliqueime, Ferreiras and Paderne.
Open: Thursday to Sunday – 11-30am until 4-30pm
The new showroom is located in Boutique Hotel Casa Amor, Rua Dr Pádua, Olhão
Open: Thursday to Saturday – 10am to 2pm
Telephone: 961 528 679
