Art is a very personal matter w/ Pietro Terzini

To create and believe in what  you have created. We meet with Pietro Terzini, who comes from the most sincere and natural core of the world of creativity, effortlessly capturing the authenticity that the age demands. His journey, which began by sharing slogans written on the packaging of fashion brands on Instagram, is now continuing through collaborations that involve influential fashion brands. Pietro, a pioneer in a new wave of modern art, intricately weaves his words between irony and fashion, drawing inspiration from the deepest roots of his being.

Let’s go to the very beginning. How did the idea of your works come out?

Pietro Terzini: The idea behind my work was born in 2016 when I was working for a well-known Italian influencer, Chiara Ferragni. In the office Chiara received many gifts and all the packaging was thrown away. I started taking them out of the bin and bringing them home because they were colorful and beautiful. A few months later I started writing on them, photographing them and posting them as memes on Instagram. This is how it all began.

What urges you to create?

Pietro Terzini: There is no rational motivation, it is a need that comes from within. If I don’t create anything during the day, I can’t sleep.

“The fact that fashion steals a lot from art is certainly true.“

-Pietro Terzini

How do you feel about being creative in today’s world?

Pietro Terzini: I’ve never thought about it, it’s part of how I’ve been made since I was a child. I feel that I’m lucky to be able to work and live doing what I like.

How would you describe your art to the one who never sees it?

Pietro Terzini: To people who ask me what work I do I always say that I work with words. If I had to define my art I would say that it is a sort of meme art, with physical works that when photographed become memes to share.

Define being original.

Pietro Terzini: Intercept the universal spirit of our time and interpret it in a very personal way.

In your imagery you use lots of “irony”. How does that word reflect on you in your personal life?

Pietro Terzini: The tone of voice of my works is that of my character, I’m just like that.

A false fact about the relationship between fashion and art?

Pietro Terzini: haha, I don’t know. The fact that fashion steals a lot from art is certainly true.

Any advice for those who are into the art but do not know how to start?

Pietro Terzini: The greatest invention after the printing press is the invention of social media. They are a global showcase. I would suggest understanding their communicative potential and using them to present their work.

What is your escape-from-yourself moment like? What do you do when you don’t create?

Pietro Terzini: I prepare a coffee, drink it and then smoke a cigarette or two without thinking about anything.

Do you use art as escapism or a way of mirroring who you are?

Pietro Terzini: I use art to photograph the reality. I live in through my point of view, I use it to dig inside myself. For me, it is a very personal process of introspective analysis in search of universal sensations and feelings valid for all human beings.

“I use art to photograph the reality. I live in through my point of view, I use it to dig inside myself. For me, it is a very personal process of introspective analysis in search of universal sensations and feelings valid for all human beings.” 

-Pietro Terzini

What makes an artwork different from the others?

Pietro Terzini: The person looking at it. The work is already inside the observer even before he has seen it. Simply, the observer not only looks at a work but recognizes it. This is why we like some works and others we don’t. Art is a very personal matter.

How would you describe today’s art scene through the technology perspective?

Pietro Terzini: I don’t have an opinion about it, also because I’m so busy developing my work that I rarely look around. It’s a period of great transformation in everything, we’ll see where it takes us!

What was your most iconic work? 

Pietro Terzini: I think it’s the Hermes construction site “Love didn’t met her at her best, it met her in Her Mess”.

When the art hits the streets or is shown on Instagram, its effect is huge with the expanding audience, but it is much more difficult to keep the interest alive. How do you overcome this difficulty?

Pietro Terzini: Producing more works. I think that quantity it’s important to keep interest alive, variations is important too.

Do you have any advice for creatives?

Pietro Terzini: Work also in the nights, time flies.

What is your biggest fear?

Pietro Terzini: Coming back to work in an office, lol.

What inspires you the most?

Pietro Terzini: My friends life, and people stories in general.

The relationship between social media and your work; is it the best way to spread it out?

Pietro Terzini: I have never had any contact with the art world, any art dealer or gallery in the past. If there hadn’t been social media and the audience that began to like and share my posts I wouldn’t exist.

Anything is possible, what would you wish for?

Pietro Terzini: World peace and enough money to live on for everyone!

Interview by Duygu Bengi

From Based Istanbul N°42 – me, myself & I Issue. “Talk to yourself like someone you love.⁠ Perhaps then, the balance might change. This time ask yourself: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” Buy your copy now!