The style, heritage and vision behind Arts Deco are those of Kalinca Costa Söderlund. Raised as a cross-cultural child of Italian and German-Brazilian origins, she arrived in London in the early 2000s to study Fine Art at the world-renowned Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design.
As a BA student at Central Saint Martins, she attended the course at the bygone Charing Cross building, in the heart of the bustling West End, where the Sex Pistols played their first gig. In the building corridors, she often crossed paths with many fashion students, who are now leading in their industry. Well before the mythical Blood Brothers stopped running at the Phoenix Theatre, Kalinca’s studio space, for three years, faced the iconic banner towering over the theatre’s entrance.
After training as an artist focusing on sculpture, installation, and photography, she gained an MA in Contemporary Art History and Theory at the School of Philosophy and Art History, University of Essex. Her passion for research and deep interest in the visual world led her to specialize in international Modernism at PhD level - an experience through which she refined her understanding of 20th-century art, design, and architecture.
From 2011 to 2016, Kalinca lived and worked in Stockholm, where she curated exhibitions for privately owned art galleries and Bonniers Konsthall, a leading Swedish museum renowned globally for its cutting-edge repertoire. In Stockholm, Kalinca also gained extensive knowledge of Scandinavian interior design; particularly of the Gustavian Style, and of the masterminds of Mid-Century furniture design and their timeless creations.
Prior to her involvement in art and design, Kalinca worked in Milan in fashion media and the cosmetic industry for internationally acclaimed M.A.C. Cosmetics, and as Art Director for the young Maverick of the contemporary make-up scene, KIKO Milano.
A Maverick herself, Kalinca is now based in London but continues to travel to Milan, Stockholm, São Paulo, and other world capitals to maintain and expand her art and design networks, and to source new objects and treasures for her portfolio and her clients.