Dutch-born artist G铆s Mar铆’s practice is defined by patience, precision and emotion. The artist creates large-scale abstract paintings that explore colour, texture and movement. He works mainly with oil, spending months, sometimes years, developing a single piece, adding layer upon layer to achieve depth and intensity. His paintings draw inspiration from the natural world and the calm rhythm of life by the ocean. In a time when art is often consumed through screens, Mar铆 values physical encounters: the moment when a viewer stands before a canvas and suddenly feels its energy. His work is a reminder that slowness, attention and craft still hold power in the modern world 鈥 perhaps more now than ever.
The artist鈥檚 love of painting is rooted in his childhood. His father is an art dealer, and Mar铆 grew up surrounded by art. He explains: 鈥淚 remember as a child when he would return from Paris with newly acquired art under his arm, excitedly sharing with me what he had just bought. What fascinated me as a young boy was that the artist could distil their energy in the painting; they could invest the painting with a personality that decades or even centuries later, could speak to viewers like my father, bringing them to joy or tears or reflection. It was like magic.鈥 The magnetic draw to the art world continued into Mar铆鈥檚 twenties, when he quit his university studies of psychology to devote his life entirely to painting.聽
Mar铆鈥檚 move from Amsterdam to Porto, Portugal was a pivotal moment in his career. 鈥淲hen I moved, I was able to concentrate better. For me, life in Southern Europe is more physical and real. People feel less rushed, and I think one should not create in a rush; you should work through and contemplate your work. I think this is reflected in my art, I take a long period of time to work on and mull over a painting.鈥 In a modern era that sees quantity and efficiently often prevail over quality, Mar铆 believes in the fundamentals of the old craftsmanship traditions. His creative process can take months, even years, committing to a conversation with the piece, revisiting as many times as necessary. He begins with a thin, diluted paint, applying it to the canvas to look for a strong shape and colour combination. From here, details are gradually built up, with Mar铆 often taking week-long breaks between painting. He continues: 鈥淚t is a process of exploring and feeling. In the development period, the line between mistake and success is extremely thin. I try to find what the canvas has to offer, and along the way, the piece becomes more profound.鈥澛
For Mar铆, the act of painting is inseparable from the rhythms of the natural world. The phrase 鈥渘atura artis magistra鈥, meaning nature is the teacher of art, guides much of his thinking. A childhood love of the water 鈥 he grew up in a city just a few kilometers from the sea 鈥 has shaped his creative output. Today, his studio in Figueira da Foz is just a five-minute walk from the ocean, and the ever-changing reflection of the light on the water鈥檚 surface is a constant source of inspiration. In a recent series, Mar铆 explored the tidal rhythms of the Mondego River, translating the pull and release of the current into broad gestures and subtle tonal shifts.聽On land, he finds similar beauty in smaller moments: the spiral symmetry of a snail shell, or the contrast of a red berry against a green leaf 鈥 examples of nature鈥檚 own perfect compositions.聽
In an age of acceleration, Mar铆鈥檚 art insists of slowness, patience and attention, both in its making and viewers. They are an invitation to look again, more closely, at nature鈥檚 quiet rhythms.聽Each work, produced over months or years, is given time to breathe, becoming fully formed before he signs his name and lets it go. Once complete, the painting takes on a life of its own.聽The observer can stand before the paintings, see the whole, its texture, energy and feel. It is here, according to Mar铆, that the true magic happens.聽
Find out more about the artist:
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. G铆s Mar铆, atelier Figueira da Foz. With 鈥楢legoria ao nascimento鈥. Photo by Lu铆s Brand茫o.
2. G铆s Mar铆, A Agua salobra do Mondego dan莽a聽com a luz do sol, 2024-2025. Oil on canvas, 205x136cm.
3. G铆s Mar铆, A lie for a lie, and a truth for a truth, 2024. Oil on canvas, 176x121cm.
4. G铆s Mar铆, The window of Orpheus, 2024. Oil on canvas, 168x121cm.
5. G铆s Mar铆, The shadow of the eye, 2024. Oil on canvas, 167×107.
6. G铆s Mar铆, L’amour est un oiseau rebelle, 2025. Oil on canvas, 210x147cm.
7. G铆s Mar铆, Em busca do horizonte, 2024-2025. Oil on canvas, 212x162cm.
