Andrei Petrescu

Andrei Cristian Petrescu (Romania, 1988): mark our words, this guy will go a long way. He might be young, but his technique is already amazing. Take a minute or two to look at those portraits and landscapes in black and white: doesn’t he strike you as a master already? Please don’t hate us for saying this, but: we told you so…

He learned the art of photography from one of the most recognised photographers alive, Marco Glaviano. They met in Milan in 2006 and since then Andrei became his apprentice and friend, while they shared the same house. He started working with his Maestro as first assistant during the studio shootings: that is how he had the chance to discover everything about studio lighting, the latest technologies in photography and the way a professional shooting happened, in one of the most important studios in the world, the Milano Studio Digital. Meanwhile he had the chance to select photos from Marco Glaviano’s archive, which contains more then 50 years of photographic history. He helped him to organise his exhibitions: M.I.A. Fair (2011); Marco Glaviano, palazzo Morando (2012), La Palermo di Marco Glaviano (2013). Andrei was also part of the editing process of Marco’s Photobooks: 100% Capri (2009), Marco Polo (2008), St. Barth – 40th Anniversary (2013), Roberta Mancino (2014) and Taghazout (2009). In the past 10 years, they travelled together for different shootings and exhibitions all over Europe.

During the last five years, Andrei has lived between Milan and Bucharest, continuing his career in the photography field in both countries, trying to define his own artistic statement. Since his first experiences as a young actor for film and theatre at the age of 15, he always stayed active in the arts. The movie “Elevator” in which he was the protagonist, won in 2008 “The Best Movie Award” in the most important international film festival in Romania (TIFF). Without forsaking his first love, cinematography, in his country he started producing photographic series of major actors portraits. He pursued this direction, photographing jazz singers or other interesting figures that inspired him, such as his Maestro, Marco Glaviano. While dedicating himself to artistic projects, he also kept working in commercial photography in Europe.

In this collection, made up of landscape and portrait photography, Andrei tried to capture The Awesome in the thin line between light and darkness, overwhelming beauty and minimalistic detail, through the use of stark contrasts in black and white. His experience in film clearly influenced his recent works, in the use of space, composition, mise en scène. At the moment, he is working on one of the most significant projects of his life, a documentary about Marco Glaviano’s life, the person thanks to whom he discovered the essence of photography, and became a true artist.