“Carlos has given back value to coins. the value that had been lost in time”
Miguel Urrutia
PAINTED NUMISMATICS
Painted Numismatics is a series of paintings I started in 2019, induced by the contemplation of one of my collections. One of the many things I've collected since I was a child are coins of all kinds, from any country, material, year or theme. It's a collection that doesn't follow any particular order or design, it is merely motivated by the act of owning.
A few years ago, looking at a bag full of unclassified coins I realized their huge potential as an object. I decided that someday I would use them as a support in my painting. I eventually started doing tests with oil paint and thin brushes. The historical figures in the coins started acquiring color. I got hooked and carried on painting, giving new meaning to this prized object that can be found in all societies.
I then researched the subject. I found work by artists who were working on coins, and I explored their methods. I learned about the coin minting process and the great artists that are involved in the manufacture of each of these tiny masterpieces we carry in our pockets and exchange for food, clothes, objects and a wide range of other things.
I continued painting and working on the coins in many ways. I appropriated these historical objects that tell us about the history of their societies in their unique way. With my intervention they acquire a different context to that in which they were created. Now my imagery is incorporated into one of their sides, providing a mini sculpture created by an anonymous artist with color, or adding images and characters that will never be featured in a coin because they are not considered relevant enough. They go from being a common object in a series, to being a unique repurposed piece which is then put back in circulation with a new economic and aesthetic sense.
Carlos Alarcon
