10 Questions with Ettore Albert

Born in Halle an der Saale in 1979, he grew up in northern Germany. He has been involved with painting and graphics since early childhood. In the 1990s, he discovered street art and graffiti as his preferred form of expression, and in his teens, he was often out and about as a graffiti artist. Later he restricted himself to canvases and worked more with oil and acrylic. At 23, he had his first exhibition and his first gallery contract two years later.
After studying politics and theology, he lived and worked mainly in Berlin. In 2013, he shifted his centre of life to Austria, where he still lives and works as a freelance artist in Burgenland.
His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions, at various art fairs, and in a few galleries - some of the more recent paintings can be seen on his website.

www.ettorealbert.com

ARTIST STATEMENT

“In the world I dream of, the world I long for - harmony and beauty are the standards of all creation, and everything is art. The ability to create artistically, the ability to create art - that is what distinguishes us from all other known beings. That is the superpower of the human race.
And to create such a world, to transform our world to that end - play is the way, art is the tool, and devotion is the medium.
My art is meant to inspire and awaken, question everything, bend the rules, break laws, dissolve the solid and connect the strange. It should animate to play. My art should point out the illusory nature of our transient environment - so that everyone recognises the irony and comedy of life and our existence. It's a realisation that frees you, that makes you realise that serious is only what you take seriously.” - Ettore Albert

GRAVITY, oil and acrylic on canvas, 100x120 cm, 2022 © Ettore Albert

INTERVIEW

First of all, tell our readers a little bit about you. Who are you, and how did you start experimenting with images?

I'm Ettore; I live quite secluded, and I love to play and what I don't like is to be bored.
In my opinion, next to music, colours are the greatest thing this planet has to offer. Since early childhood, I have been fascinated by this world of colours and shapes, light and shadow. And playing with these building blocks and experimenting with how compositions of these building blocks can influence your emotions, how they can radiate energy, and how they can infect you with ideas is the greatest. Even before I could walk, I painted walls and furniture, and as a teenager, I discovered graffiti and street art. Creating with my imagination is what gives me the most pleasure; this is where it is easiest for me to lose myself and give myself completely.

You started with street art and graffiti before turning to canvases. What inspired you to make such a move?

This step was not that big. I started with drawing, and the surfaces changed: paper, school desks, walls, canvas. Everything has pros and cons. Working with spray cans on walls - the almost unlimited size and speed, allow a wonderful amount of dynamism and momentum. I think the decisive factor for me to work on canvas was the fascination for oil colours - and the possibility to go more into depth, more into detail with brush and palette knife. I love the power and depth of oil paints, their organic vitality, their transience. And, of course, what oil and canvas make possible is working slowly - oil doesn't cause stress. Often there are 4 or 5 different works in my studio that I work on simultaneously.

PUNK PINK PULP, acrylic on canvas, 100x140 cm, 2022 © Ettore Albert

FOUR GATES, oil and acrylic on canvas, 90x150 cm, 2005 © Ettore Albert

What is your personal aim as an artist?

I don't know if I have a specific goal as an artist. My goal, or rather my wish for the future, is to continue to be able to do what I want without pressure, without expectations, and openly and without fear. I want to continue to be a vessel for my muse to feel comfortable in. I want to serve as an inspiration for my children and the people around me - to dedicate a lifetime as much as possible to art.

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?

Oh, it varies a lot. Sometimes it's a feeling that I try to capture or depict. But sometimes, it's a feeling inside me that I let paint. There are also pictures where I combine sketches and work them out. However, the idea, sketch, colour, and material or their combination must arouse my curiosity, surprise me, and remain exciting for me until the end - that is actually the decisive factor for me. And the more exciting an experiment is, the more attention I pay to it - I'm quite a child.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work? Do you have any specific references?

Inspiration comes from everywhere - inspiration is omnipresent all around us. Taking it in is like breathing, a perpetual process. In my belly, there is a kind of pot. I throw everything into it that inspires me - the expression on a face, a phrase, the green of the cacti on the terrace, the song on the car radio yesterday, and so on. - and I draw from this pot when I sing in the shower, tell my sons a story, build something, and, of course, when I paint. You also have a pot like that, don't you?

What is your favorite experience as an artist so far?

I can't say exactly. It's a nice feeling when someone falls in love with one of my paintings and integrates it into their life and their reality. In general, it feels good when my works are seen. It's nice to observe the reactions my works evoke in the viewer, to hear different interpretations, or to read different reviews.

You have exhibited and worked with different fairs and galleries. What do you think about the art community and market? And how do you cultivate a collector base?

This is a broad, and ever-growing, field. It is still crucial that art wants and needs to be seen. On the one hand, the possibilities to make art visible have become incredibly diverse. But at the same time, this increase in stages has made it so much more difficult to reach people. Every sound, every image - every stimulus is in competition with so many other stimuli, and being heard through the ears or seen through the eyes does not mean that you have really reached the other person.
I have the greatest respect for gallery owners, publicists, and curators - whose field of work has become so difficult, so complex, and fast-moving. I am very happy to be on the producing side of the art market and not on the publishing and marketing side. I am a dreamer. For me, a gallerist is also a kind of shield against this world of deadlines, costs, contracts, and marketing.

YING & YANG, oil and acrylic on canvas, 150x150 cm, 2021 © Ettore Albert

YOLANDI, oil on canvas, 150x150 cm, 2022 © Ettore Albert

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?

I always have many projects going on at the same time - what currently runs through a large number of works is the consideration of how little colour and form are needed to convey as much story, emotion, and subtext as possible. Faces, facial expressions, or looks supposedly enable us to classify people. The variety of interpretations that a combination of form and colour triggers in different viewers - that is incredibly exciting.

What is one lesson you learnt recently? And how did it help you further develop your art?

What I became really aware of only recently through my children and what I have been thinking about a lot since then is - bias. The way our mind tries to understand the world, how it tries not to be overwhelmed in the face of overwhelming impressions. And how actually fear and insecurity lead to our mind trying to pre-filter what we see or hear - past our conscious decision - omitting, adding, colouring, amplifying, or fading out.
And, of course, this is something that is constantly on my mind - I want to create art that sneaks past your mind and reaches your heart as unfiltered as possible.

Finally, share something you would like the world to know about you?

I want the world to know how grateful I am and that I think this world of ours (despite all the nonsense we do here) is by far the best and most beautiful theme park a human child could wish for. Thank you, world!

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