About

filtronero, what is that about:
filtro nero – in Italian – means black filter. The choice of the name comes from the dark perspective that I, Andre Alterol, have chosen to represent aspects and forms of life. Being my mother tongue Italian, the name in Italian came natural.

I:
Andre Alterol, born in Italy at the end of the 60s, have lived in Italy, UK, and am now living and working in Germany – Hamburg.
Studied art from books and attended drawing lessons.
Began doing art in the late 80s experimenting with various techniques and started exhibiting in the early 90s in several informal locations.
In the early 2000s worked on computer vectorial art, which was exhibited while living in London.
Since the mid 2000s initiated a painting project, still in progress, which is shown here.

Exhibitions: I have exhibited solo and collective in cafes, bars, fairs, shops, cultural centers, squats and city streets, in the Lands I have lived and presently living. I am currently looking for exhibitions and representations in art galleries.

Why being an artist:
I have become an artist because, being always stimulated by a constant activity of curiosity and observation, i was in need to represent my visions and perceptions, so I realized that with visual art I could reach a more satisfactory result than with words or music. Doing art is both a creative and a meditative process that connect my inner world with the outer world. I am interested mainly in portraiture and  human expression, social issues, and the beauty of nature forms.

Inspirations:
My inspirations are mostly from painting, photography and graphics.
To make a list short: Pop art, Minimalism, Abstract expressionism, Nature photography (especially Blossfeldt), 60s protest art and graphics, anarchist and underground graphics, Noir cinema, black and white graphic novels, Italian neorealism in Cinema, LP covers.

What is unique in my work:
I have been asked what is unique in my work, so what I want to underline is that in my art, particular and unique, is the use I make of the halftone screen in its cross version. In this way, with a high contrast, the halftone screen enhance a dramatic representation, give the subjects a sense of suspension (spatial and/or temporal) and very often a sense of solitude.
Another particularity, technically speaking, is the fact that every painting is thoroughly executed with brushes, although only from a close distance one can see the brush strokes and the human touch.

If you are interested in knowing more about me and my art, feel free to use the email address in my Contact page.