Q + A: Alberto Ferretti

What is the ethos underpinning your work?

My intention as a painter is to explore new realms of perception and psychology; loosing myself in order to find something or someone that I didn’t even know needed to exist. I invent stories and characters inspired from my perception of life, emotions, movement and space. I paint nature without painting landscapes. I paint people without painting portraits. I paint what is left once the person, the landscape, the animal, the spirit, time and space have all passed through. The residue is almost superficially materialistic, perhaps a hat or a chair. Other times it is the essentials, like a neck, or a hand. I paint fast and without hesitation.

When did your love affair with art begin?

Since I can remember I have always been fascinated by all forms of art. I have tried to express myself through music, photography, fashion and martial arts, and although I see art everywhere (especially in nature), painting offers the most depth for my artistic expression. Ultimately, I paint because I have to.

Take us inside your studio…

I enter my studio – the smallest space you could imagine – and I directly start painting. Once I start painting, I continue painting until I stop. Stopping can be quite abrupt at times because I can very suddenly feel that I’ve finished what I needed to do for that day. Of course, that does not necessarily mean that I have finished the painting.

What materials do you use?

I like to keep it very simple: acrylic and oil. I used to use a lot of plaster and impasto to make more textured works, like sculptures on canvas. I offer stories and characters through colour, shape, movement, texture and tone and I try to represent everything as simply as possible. What emerges could be a head hovering over three vases lost in a flurry of blue and white, hopefully tricking the viewer into embarking on their own journey to a deeper meaning.