About Pietro Maffei...

    Date and place of birth:   25.05.1973, Basel Switzerland
   1973 - 1992:   grew up and studied  in Courrendlin JU
    1992 - 1999:   studied, worked in Neuchâtel NE
    1999 - 2003:   worked in Mountain View, California

    Currently living in Renens, Switzerland

    Exhibitions:

    10.2002 : Exhibition at Café Matisse San José, CA, USA   (paintings)

    06.2003 : Exhibition at the Petit Trianon San José, CA, USA  (PAC)

    02.2007 : Color Elefante Gallery, Valencia, Spain    (Apple II)

    04.2007 : NY Arts Beijing Gallery, Beijing, China     (Apple II)

     05.2007 : Broadway Gallery, New York City, USA     (Apple II)

    12.2007 : Florence Biennale of Contemporary Arts 2007

Painting was the next step after years of drawing. Because of the drawing inheritance, I always start my canvas with one or several sketches. I consider myself to be more on the illustration side even if I use painting techniques with acrylics.
I started drawing at the age of 7, and my painting ambitions emerged in my early 20s with the my first gouaches. Later, I moved into acrylics. My early compositions were women, mutants, monsters and sci-fi themes in general nut now my art evolve more into symbolism. The subject evolve little after I start to paint but sometimes I go on a totally different way that what I was planning to paint before. I like to depict the things that affect my psyche, however the way I perceive them and what end on the canvas can be very different. I want to render thoses things following new surrealism currents but with my own techniques: ultra-deep colors and dramatic figuration of non realistic scenes . it's seldom happy but yet full of hope at the same time. In the process of painting I try to be very precise and clean and use my brain more than my heart, which maybe is a problem. It takes a lot of time and it's very suffering sometimes. So, now, I'm trying new compostions and to use more of the heart and soul part of me. I think there is still a lot to explore in painting techniques, I'm just at the beginning. I also want to be in contact with more artists, I hope one day I can free myself of the things that I'm painting and paint other subjects as well. It's an ongoing process, I will keep my website updated with new material so check it from time to time...

Pietro Maffei 10.12.2007