Born in the Netherlands and based in Portugal, Gís Marí [born Gijs Maris in Haarlem, 1991] paints large-scale, abstract, expressionistic oil paintings. He was drawn into the world of painting during his study of psychology in Leiden. His apartment and its white walls increasingly served as an atelier, and instead of preparing for his exams, he was occupied with the arts. In his early 20s, he quit university to devote his life entirely to painting. Gís Marí rented his first atelier in Amsterdam [NDSM Wharf], where he worked for 2 years. His increasing discomfort with the gentrifying, speedy and money-driven Amsterdam saw him move to southern Europe, where he fell in love with the city of Porto. He rented an abandoned industrial store in central Porto, which served as an atelier and house, and he worked here for four intense years. In 2019 he moved to an old rice warehouse in the port town of Figueira da Foz, where he currently lives and works. In modern times, where quantity and efficiency prevail over quality, Gís Marí believes in old-world values. He works on a painting for many months and up to years. After constant conversation with the painting, he only puts his signature under his best work and destroys the rest. As he believes in the physical power of his work, he uses no social media; the painting has to interact with the observer ‘in the flesh’.