Alan Mazzetti’s paintings continue to explore the relationship between abstraction and representation. He selects subjects from his SF Bay Area environment. This area is very rich in both urban and rural imagery. These subjects serve as the starting point for his compositions. His perspective for this art is from a high vantage distant point that emphasizes the patterns and flatness of the image. He also likes to imply a sense of transition in his work. Sometimes this takes the form of movement suggested through the scene chosen, and is often inherent in the subject matter itself. For him, this artistic journey is the essence of what he wants to depict - the movement through space and time that n the long run arrives at an unanticipated destination for both himself and the viewer. His landscapes move from distant to near, or show contrast between structured and organic. His urban images capture changing eras and styles, or different times of day.
This change of the painting process is very evident in his work as it progresses from blank canvas to a completed piece, accumulating previous decisions and layers. He says that his urban images show views of buildings that seem to be adjacent but are actually far from each other. Mazzetti learned to think and express himself visually at a young age. He grew up in the house that was designed by his father. Here he was surrounded by his brother’s product design and his mother’s paintings; the production and making of art came naturally to him.
