If you’re looking for inspiration fuelled by bright colours with swirls of surrealism and sprinkles of absurdity, then illustrator Andrey Kasay’s latest exhibition to hit London is worth a slot in your diary.
How did the baguette become a giraffe? We’re not sure there’s an answer, but if there is, it might involve a giant pink carp, a water dispenser and an armchair balanced on a sombrero – all elements from a new collection of works by Andrey Kasay showing at the Pocko Gallery in London from 5 September to 11 October 2024.
Of course, you’re not obliged to take Andrey’s work literally. Interpreting his work is like playing a game – one where you’re free to make your own associations between the unusual items he includes in the pictures, both individually and as a collection.
Chair
The Incident in the Forest
Morning Shopping
“The idea has been in my head for a while,” says Andrey. “Well, not exactly an idea, more a phrase that I liked: comedy versus tragedy. So, the selection of images at the exhibition is based on these themes. The name itself, How the Baguette Became a Giraffe, is just a funny title I stole from the title of a song by a punk band I listened to as a child.”
Represented by the creative agency Pocko, Andrey is originally from the far eastern part of Russia, on the Amur River. He first became an artist 18 years ago when he was a musician and needed a little extra money to get by. He reverted to the drawing skills he’d developed as a child and today creates his strange, psychedelic, satirical pieces for clients such as Nike, Gucci, Red Bull and The New Yorker.
“For me, the three most important things about my work are: it should be funny, beautiful, and surprising in some way,” says Andrey. “So basically, I just draw as I can – there’s no specific method. Sometimes I start with an idea, and sometimes I just begin, and the idea comes to me during the process.”
Sunbathing
Vacation Continuous
Animation has been added to his skillset, and if a racoon can be used as a scrubbing sponge or armchairs can absorb anyone who sits in them, then that’s what will happen in Andrey’s Magritte-esque universe. In future, he’d like to create longer forms of animation. “I’m probably the most unplanned person in the world, but I’d love to make a cartoon – that’s my big goal,” says Andrey.
In the meantime, you can appreciate his work until 11 October at the Pocko Gallery, 51A King Henrys Walk, London, N1 4NH. Andrey has previously exhibited at Pictoplasma and Supernova.
