Sunday 21 December 2014

Saturday 29 November 2014

THE COLOUR OF MONEY - THE MONEY PAINTINGS












The Money Paintings
by Andrei Costache

Ever since the beginning of civilisation money was an instrument of exchange and comparing values. The word "money" is believed to originate from a temple of Juno, on Capitoline, one of Rome's seven hills. In the ancient world Juno was often associated with money. The temple of Juno Moneta at Rome was the place where the mint of Ancient Rome was located1. The name "Juno" may derive from the Etruscan goddess Uni (which means "the one", "unique", "unit", "union", "united") and "Moneta" either from the Latin word "monere" (remind, warn, or instruct) or the Greek word "moneres" (alone, unique).2

In contemporary days money expresses wealth and power. It is also the unique maker of society trends. The Money Paintings cycle with the idea of floral capitalism and blooming youth. Made of flashy coins on canvas. The background is white and fuses the coins with the colour of romance. I am a voyeur into the intricacies of art, attacking its bare rules. Money shows a vague relaxation towards the law in general. These works come to play during a period of momentous changes in the post-internet era. Money and power are vexing the art market with constant fluctuations. Young artists are being sky rocketed by dealers and galleries. The auctions make the most money ever.

We are all gambling over the internet. The Money Paintings shine a light in the neon club. We are the new owners of these tokens. Everything is for the taken. A visual blanket thinking Damien Hirst's spot paintings, literally working, using money to make art. Flabbergasting. Money on canvas like a Mondrian or a Van Gogh of the digital age that flows fast looking like fractals on a shiny screen. The colour of money that never fades, never lies. The Money Paintings like a new currency in the sky. 




D'Eprio, Peter & Pinkowish, Mary Desmond (1998). What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? First Anchor Books, p.192.
Wikipedia, Money

Wednesday 12 November 2014


                                Andrei Costache, CAKE PLAY, 2014. Photoshop drawing.

ANDREI COSTACHE ‘CAKE PLAY’

Opening reception: Saturday, November 15, 12–2pm

Aldeburgh South Beach Lookout Gallery
31 Crag Path Aldeburgh IP15 5BS
Tel: 01728 452754

Future of Arts is pleased to present Andrei Costache ‘CAKE PLAY’, the first exhibition since his graduation, with the private view on November 15, 12-2pm. Influenced by mega headline acts such as Kapoor, Murakami and Hockney, the exhibit is the idea of making something swimming in the wave of para modernity. Super hyped up like the first bicycle ride, with all the giggles, the show comes on all fours and straight away launches the paradigm ‘People in the art world are living for the cakes - getting all the Freebies!’ The artist creates the unique rule inside this universe. THE CAKE.  It becomes an idea of fun with a ludic poster design that subverts the numinous state of eating the cake it celebrates a more abstracted one of ‘being the cake’.

This modern day twist diverts the attention towards an alien reality, subconsciously floating in a dream, vamping hybrid faces and doodling digital bodies. The narrative unravels in a blended Richter/Koons non-existent virtuality objectifying emotion. ‘CAKE PLAY’ is a splendid parade. The artist manages to masquerade a carnivalesque plight offered to the viewer, as if serving the works with multiple sub layers saying: ‘Want a slice of cake? Here, have it with a smile!’ The dialogue is guiding the festive visuals in nostalgia and it culminates in the now notorious ‘Brancusi on acid’ sculptures, as interpreted by a degree show viewer earlier this year at University Campus Suffolk. Costache’s urban models are fast forwarding in the future, trespassing fantasy grounds and identity cocktails that forge vivid landscaped vistas.

The show is a voyage of convivial history showcasing the perks of a psychedelic culture, exploring computer games, the internet, reality and paranoia; evoking the times of Super Mario. A group of Yoshi World look-a-like objects that fail to imitate anything that is real. They take on various themes that traverse art history and popular culture. Undergoing a dramatic practical change, opening the craft process at times through shapes cut from wood and vibrant colours, the work places the archetypal three dimensional form in a simulacra state, depicting things that either had no reality to begin with, or that no longer have an original place.

Born in Constanta, Romania, a picturesque city by the sea. Costache studied three years of architecture at the University of Architecture and Urbanism ‘Ion Mincu’ in Bucharest from 2004 to 2007. He graduated with a First Class (BA) Honours Degree in Fine Art from UCS in 2014.  He is a Visiting Teacher for the Art and Design course at West Suffolk College.

Future of Arts is an on-line publication of recent research into art practice by students and emerging artists. Since its beginnings in 2012 F-ARTS has supported and produced The Future, SNIP and other important publications. Currently working on SNIPER - an exhibition of recent UK graduates with submissions opening in spring 2015. Director of F-ARTS is Andrei Costache.

To learn more about Andrei Costache’s work please click here.

To find out about the Lookout click here.

Friday 27 June 2014