Hello, my name is Andrei Captan. I'm an illustrator, filmmaker, and the creator of Artist Playing Cards. I've drawn for as long as I can remember and along the way, I fell in love with many other art forms, including magic and cardistry. Playing cards became a part of who I am and I always wanted to make my own. Now, I have.
Senior year (2019) of high school, I entered a New York State art competition. I had to design the Jack, Queen, King and Aces of each suit representing an artistic movement. I won 1st Place and while at the competition, I had judges and students alike telling me the same thing, “You should make these.” Since then, I expanded on the idea, redesigning the initial artwork to create a completely original, hand illustrated, kaleidoscopic deck of cards.
Each suit represents an artistic movement. Rather than stick with the classic black and red card design, every card features completely original artwork, with unique design elements on the number cards and hand illustrated paintings as the Jacks, Queens & Kings. With every number card alternating between the three main styles illustrated in the face cards, the deck becomes a visual feast for the eyes.
With a back design inspired by museum architecture and a gold foiled and embossed tuck box, this deck is perfect for everyone, from the interested artist to the experienced cardist.
Royal blue, gold foiled and embossed with the four featured art movements on the front and a gold foiled seal on the back. Complete with an illustrated interior, this is truly a luxury tuck for the card collector and art aficionado.
The back design features blue on white, hand drawn, museum inspired, stone arches and glass galleries. The deck features two identical jokers, displaying elements from the tuck with the four art movements found inside. From my magic and cardistry background, I include a blank card for its limitless applications as well as give everyone a chance to draw their own!
For the Renaissance, Spades was the clear choice. The sharp silhouette fit perfectly for the art movement. Concerned with refined technique and crisp detail, the Spades embody this era’s poise and elegance. Cracked plaster, painted drapery and intricately sketched portraiture, the Spades bring 15th century Europe to the present.
Focusing on texture and natural beauty, the Clubs' floral shape felt perfect as the suit for Impressionism. For an era with a departure away from realism, the Clubs' radial form was chosen to represent this art movement's expansion in new directions. Textured brush strokes, vibrant color and hazy structure, the Clubs evoke new ways of looking at art beyond classical painting.
Focused on depicting what drawing from life can't, the bold endeavor to express what nature doesn't is why the Diamonds matches so well with Expressionism. The pointed and multifaceted shape couples with the boundary breaking art achieved during this time. Measured patterns, flowing brush strokes and drip painting, the Diamonds discover new ways to express what traditional art can’t.
Bringing imagination to life, the Hearts seemed to be the apt suit for the mind-melding movement of Surrealism. Juxtaposing the real and unreal, this era focused a return to child-like whimsy & wonder. Figment forms, blurring the boundaries of nature and swords through heads, the Hearts push imagination into reality.
