Apr 2

Cristina & Magdalena Staicut

Cristina & Magdalena Staicut are a sister team of painters who form a collective known as Ideologist Art. They specialize in creating paintings which incorporate precious metals such as goldleaf, silverleaf, platinum, palladium, and often incorporating 24 karat gold into their works. They have exhibited their works in Romania in venues such as the ESG Summit, La Mama Clubul Taranului, and self-promoted events through Ideologist Art.

The paintings are often decorative with ancient elements of design found in the murals of ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Such an ancient quality embodies flatness with classical wisdom and grace. The precious metal leafs accentuate the design elements which often reflect spiritual shapes such as the sun, water symbolism, grape / olive foliage, and laurel wreaths. Because the team works in the same style it may be difficult to differentiate between the two artists, however upon closer examination Cristina tends to express simple and pure design elements while Magda usually creates pieces which are more intricate and complex.

Colliery (top of article), painted by Cristina, remains a minimalistic painting depicting a coal mine, according to the title. Displayed in a manner reminiscent of ancient symbolism, the painting expresses qualities of Ancient Egypt through the aesthetics of gold and cobalt combined with linear references which seem almost like symbolism referring to an earth or water god or goddess. If you take the painting with the title, the perspective of the tunnels are displayed eloquently with just three lines.

Abyss (pictured above), painted by Magdalena, depicts a bottomless emptiness such as the interior of a chasm, or perhaps a metaphorical emptiness such as a void. Depicted as a flat vortex with intricate brick-like layers, Abyss takes us on a journey through the depths of space. The Abyss comes off as a contemporary piece, less particular with ancient nostalgia and more aligned with contemporary aesthetics. The distorted and flat perspective remains a unique interpretation of elongated subject matter. A passageway which seems layed out in a design of intricate gold and measured in expanded composition.

The art reflects refinement, not just through precious metals, but with delicate forms spread out in designs which are easy on the eyes and a pleasure to cherish, with a nice drink. As we contemplate the ancient characteristics of these small treasures, we should observe the connections these works bring with our ancestors. Seldom does contemporary art successfully bridge the ancient past with the contemporary present as successfully as these paintings. With an incorporation of precious materials and a delicate palette, the art speaks through generations and connects us with a state of mind which resembles ancient and universal principles of honor, elegance, and glory.

Crtistina & Magdalina Staicut present us with works which move past modernism towards abstraction and design which connect us with ancient and classical aesthetics. Through delicate elegance of refined paint mixed with precious metals, the sisters portray a vision of a contemporary realm full of allegorical beauty towards ancient beauty, elegance, and regality.