Who is Mari Prete?

For many years, Mari Prete was considered an absolute "insider tip" among private and renowned collectors, but the artist wants to make her art accessible to a wider audience. Mari Prete is a young, established and outstanding artist who has specialised in the art of photography.

Born and raised in Armenia, she graduated in theatre and cinematography from Yerevan State University. Today, she lives and works in Europe. In her oeuvre, the artist develops a bouquet of photographic directions and works, among other things, on series of "street, food and flower photography". 
In her photographic works, Mari Prete uses the manifold possibilities of this genre and manifests her intuitively personal and observational view through the camera. With her pictures she tries to show our world and our life as it is. Facets of life that seem to be hidden in the everyday and are often hardly perceived with the naked eye become visible and thus also experienceable through her photography.
In the presented works of the group of works "Flower Portraits", an actual portrait of a flower is created, completely in the traditional manner of human portrait painting or photography, in front of often monochrome or slightly iridescent backgrounds. However, these are by no means photomontages intended to embellish, idealise, alienate or distort.
The essence of the motifs is formed from everyday circumstances and natural processes, which are already set at the beginning of each macro photograph in terms of composition, shape and colour, light and shadow, as well as depth effect. They are one-shot works that merely receive a touch-up in order to emphasise the respective characteristics of the subject in a gentle way - entirely in keeping with the high quality of the final works. The artist takes an almost experimental approach to her own works, translating elements of other genres into her photography.
The artist's works help to sharpen one's own eye in order to perceive the beauty even in small moments, small things, such as an almost completely wilted blossom. To be able to interpret in a personal way and to understand independently that there are things in the world that are worth living for. Because, no matter how often we humans try, life ultimately cannot be planned or predicted. Which is why a constructed painting could never carry such power as one that emerged from the natural (in art historical terms, "fertile") moment. They are simple, clear and yet so profound, touching and lively motifs that show the viewer the most diverse aspects of life: Joy of life, love, self-esteem, confidence, beauty and much more.
Through her work, Mari Prete has found a contemporary and light form in which precisely this process imbued with freedom - which is what art is all about - can be found.