Money is art in an exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford

Art and money are inextricably linked. Now an exhibition in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford explores the complicated relationship between these two forces.

Titled “Money Talks: art, society and power”, the show features more than 100 items – including paintings, sculptures, coins and banknotes – from different cultures and time periods. Coins dating back to the Roman Empire are on display; This also applies to more recent works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, the Guerrilla Girls and Banksy.

“Although money is not typically considered an art form, the two have collaborated and informed each other in many ways since the beginning of time,” says Xa Sturgisdirector of the Ashmolean, in a statement. “With a series of dynamic and striking objects, ‘Money Talks’ challenges our views on how money ends up in our pockets and what happens to it and to it.”

The exhibition starts with the planned rare coins Edward VIIIwho became the British monarch in early 1936. Hoping to put ‘modern’ coins into circulation, he turned to being a sculptor John Francis Kavanaghwhose designs were far from traditional.

Edward’s grand plans emphasize “the incompatibility of art and bureaucracy,” like London Times‘ writes Emma Duncan. “Unfortunately, the bureaucrats at the Bank of England had none of his brilliant cubist designs, preferring them to conventional things.”

Edward also bucked another tradition: monarchs typically appear on coins that face the opposite direction as their predecessors. Therefore, Edward had to look to the right, but he preferred the left side of his face. However, because he ultimately abdicated the thronehis coins were never released. Only a small number of samples have survived today.

The exhibition also features currency featuring Elizabeth II, including the first banknotes with her portrait, which were issued in Canada in 1954. Because her reign lasted more than 70 years, there are numerous examples of currency bearing her image.

“Strange variants of Elizabeth II appear in several Commonwealth countries,” writes the Observerby Laura Cumming. “She gets fatter, thinner, older, the eyes deeper or deeper depending on where you are in the world.”

Other highlights include banknote designs by Austrian artists such as Column Moser And Gustav Klimtwho participated in competitions organized by the Austrian central bank. Meanwhile, another section explores artistic attitudes towards money around the world.

“In Eastern art, money is a delightful thing: gods and goddesses are depicted with symbols of wealth and fertility – jewels, water, elephants and even a mongoose vomiting coins,” writes the Times. “Western artists, who take their tone from the Bible – ‘for the love of money is the root of all evil’ – portray it as evil.”

The show concludes with an examination of contemporary digital currencies, such as cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), including a new NFT that the Ashmolean commissioned especially for the exhibition.

“Money Talks: art, society and power‘ is on display until January 5, 2025 at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England.