New York. Donopoulos International Fine Arts in their inaugural exhibition proudly presents the exhibition Costas Picadas: Universe/Metaverse curated by Thalia Vrachopoulos. The show will run from November 15, 2023 through January 3 rd , 2024 and will be celebrated with an opening reception on November 15, 2023 from 6-8PM.
Costas Picadas in his series Universe/Metaverse consisting approximately of ten multi-media works, examines both the micro and macro-worlds. Four large paintings in muted tones of green, turquoise and pink reference multiplying cell-life forms are exhibited with several colorful prints of human organs such as a heart populated by botanical growth. Moreover, Picadas’ videos whose content portrays augmenting organic forms unites the whole assembly.
The exhibition’s title addresses Picadas’ subject matter both in its microcosmic detail showing cellular life, but also in its macrocosmic sense. The paintings contain tiny rounded forms that appear to contract, and when expanding begetting similar tiny particles like galaxies producing new stars. The backgrounds of the Universe/Metaverse painting triptych are painted in such a way, that the overlain forms are made to appear as if they float. Of further interest is the environment into which Picadas has placed these organic forms that contains horizontal rectilinear elements. Placed on such a context, these cellular rounded shapes create a beautifully engaging juxtaposition of visual contrasts. Moreover, the painting surface is not smooth, but rather built up in layers that sometimes drip creating further contrast with the smooth inner areas of the overlaid figures.
Picadas’ oeuvre includes photo-based prints depicting human anatomical parts such as a heart, or skeleton part sprouting horticultural elements. This series includes augmented reality images resulting in an immersive-metaverse experience produced by using 3D photo-based models. The viewer accesses the image through a QR code that they read with their telephone’s camera. The images appear in 3D reality that incorporates the space surrounding them. Finally, Picadas’ videos are about growth and multiplication of cells superimposed one upon the other in delicately webbed images that combine human and plant anatomy.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Costas Picadas was born in Ioannina, Greece. He studied art at the Ecole Des Beaux-Arts and art history at the Louvre School in Paris. Picadas’ work has been exhibited, among other places, at Queens Museum- Bulova NY, Budman Gallery NY, Denise Bibro Gallery NY, The Blender Gallery Athens Greece, Gallery Gransart Paris, Mykonos Biennale Greece, The Young Art Fair in Switzerland, Gallery J&J Donguy Paris, Some Young New Yorkers III at PS1 NY, Kappatos Gallery, Athens, Greece, Gallery de Buci Paris, Gallery Anatole Chartres, France, Gallery de Nest Paris, Salon de Montrouge, Paris, W.G. Amsterdam, Holland, and the Festival of Avignon, France. Articles, reviews and critical analysis of Picadas’ work appear in solo and group show catalogues in addition to newspapers and magazines in France, Greece and New York, such as Zing Magazine, Absolute Arts, New York Spaces Magazine and Flash Art. Since 1994 he has been living and working in New York City.
