Inspired palettes: Voka, Craig Alan, Luc Lavenseau and O Gringo are some of the featured artists

Starting in April, the Conrad Algarve hotel will set the stage for a showing of the works of Voka, an Austrian artist whose work can be found in collections and museums throughout Europe, Russia, and the United States of America. Voka coined the term “Spontaneous Realism” as a trademark for his art, which he defines as a revival of the significance of contemporary art, with a new interpretation reflecting today’s spirit of the time. His distinctive style, emerging from the dynamic of the moment, enables him to capture immediate reality whilst the observer is able to feel the imbedded movement. He researched the technique of the old masters and appropriated them into his own intensive self-study.

Pin

O Gringo

The programme continues with exhibitions from artists Craig Alan, Luc Lavenseau and O Gringo. Craig Alan’s portrait collections run the gamut from abstract expressionism to haunting, graphic realism, each one a reflection of its creator’s unique vision. His prolific career is a culmination of textbook artistic knowledge and keen aesthetic sense, one developed not through intensive schooling but deep within the recesses of this artist’s brilliant mind. “The extraordinary attribute of Craig’s work is that you continue to see something new each time you look at all the different people who inhabit his paintings,” says ArtCatto founder Gillian Catto.

Originally from France, O Gringo (Bastien Tomasini) has photographed iconic places, sumptuous settings and historical pieces. After 10 years in the world of photography, he has been merging, for the past five years, his different passions and creating unique works of art. Inspired by the ancestral tradition of azulejos (a glazed, coloured tile traditionally used in Portuguese and Spanish buildings), as well as by the artist Paolo Ferreira, his works take up the motifs he discovered during his various expeditions to Portugal and Spain. Imbued with Portuguese culture and the melancholy of Fado, each creation tells a story, based on true historical facts.

Pin

Luc Lavensau, Le grand numéro 100x100cm

Working with ArtCatto for the first time, French artist Luc Lavenseau brings to the Algarve his oil paintings. Luc has always been fascinated by the Impressionists, especially Monet, and his continued curiosity made him more interested and aware of contemporary art, particularly the works of Picasso and Andy Warhol. He is regularly selected to participate in art fairs, such as the Salon d’Automne in Paris and his artworks can be found in private collections throughout France, England, Germany, the US and Australia.

Pin

Erika Toliusis TOLIUSIS – The Life Within – 40×60 in 2022

Later in the year, ArtCatto will welcome Erika Toliusis and John Petschinger, also for the first time. Born in Uruguay, Erika Toliusis started from a young age to explore the complex shapes and infinite, ever-changing shades and rhythms of nature. Currently based in British Columbia, Canada, she creates her delicate and detailed land and seascapes that are now shown internationally. These works come to life after instinctively putting together the puzzle of millions of fragmented pieces of light and colour that get rearranged onto the canvas.

The works of Austrian artist John Petschinger are characterised by abstract ideas, bright colours, the element of chance and his unmistakable signature, the flower, which can always be found on his works. His mother always had flowers around the house when he was growing up, so every time he paints the flower, he is reminded of his childhood. John’s works are large statement pieces, which really capture the viewer’s eye. “His brilliant palette contributes to making these original pieces leap from the wall,” says Gillian Catto.

But there is, of course, much more. Throughout the year, you can expect showings featuring artists such as Silvio Porzionato, Dom Pattinson, Colin Fraser, Vicente Romero and more at both ArtCatto gallery and the Conrad Algarve hotel.

__

Follow Essential Algarve Magazine on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin for more news!

Stay up to date with: