Following on from our previous story showing some of the graffiti art, both good and bad, that we discovered in the old Bizanti palace, we’ve taken the opportunity to excursion ashore quite a lot recently. One thing is certain, art fills the heart here in Porto Montenegro, with the discovery of some contemporary artworks located close to our current anchorage in the Porto Montenegro marina village.
We wandered around the thriving (and Russian mega-yacht-littered) Porto Montenegro marina village. It is beyond pleasant – and expensive, boasting luxury boutiques, lifestyle brands, and a plenitude of fine dining offerings. The marina port village is filled with the usual prestige names including my personal favourite Dior. Amongst the ‘Rodeo Drive’ style retail we discovered some pretty cool artworks and sculptures exhibited in the street. Free for all to enjoy. Good for the heart and creative spirit. You can’t get more accessible art than that.
Art is always subjective but to my mind, the best gallery with the nicest curated collection in town is Cris Contini’s contemporary gallery. They are based in Mayfair, London representing some of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists. And they have outreach galleries such as the one we found here in Porto Montengro,
The exhibits range from Michelangelo Galliani’s fabulously leggy “Fuggi” – a 2018 white Carrara marble piece featuring a burst of crimson red Murano glass; to an elegant verdigris-hued statue with the sweetest face frozen in time, with her sleek and perpetually laid-back model-ish pose.
In the gallery’s window display, there is an example of the most wonderful wordplay series playing on prestige brand Chanel. Upon closer inspection and scrutiny “Chanel ‘Eau de Parfum” is actually written as “Chapel Eau de Pardun”. It is basically a play by the artist on contemporary myth and since sighting this a day or so ago, it has become my new favourite collection.
I like the messaging. It is part of the ‘Endless in Milano’ exhibition which also features street art-styled images of Queen Elizabeth called “Lizzy Vuitton” that you can check out here. The fact is I now want an ‘Endless’ piece in my art collection, but they simply wouldn’t be suited to hanging on the wall of Waiata and our salty sea-centered environment. That aspiration will have to wait until we someday return to being terrestrially based.
And whilst submarines may not fit everyone’s idea of what constitutes a quality installation or even art for that matter, there is what is referred to as a “Submarine Patio” here.
Located at the Naval Heritage Collection building, the venue hosts concerts, awards, and cocktail-style events for the creative and artistic set, with the aptly named 50 metre long “Hero” ex-Yugoslav submarine being both the backdrop and centerpiece. It was a secret for 23 years and is one of only three submarines in the world that can be visited.
It represents industrial and military might that was once used for collecting intelligence information, now it sits in an artistic setting – a talking piece for glitterati gatherings. So however you like your art, there’s likely something here to feed your artístic soul and inspire. It seems the art of every description and style fills the heart and soul here in Porto Montenegro.
In 1973 Pablo Picasso’s died and Paul McArtney wrote “Picasso’s Last Words” – which were reportedly “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink anymore” – and hence form the chorus of this song.
