[image]
[title]Mariano Peccinetti is a visual artist, musician and self-described “image curator” whose work has transcended borders. His talent unfolds in visually hypnotic campaigns for brands such as Gucci, Rolex, Adobe, Netflix, Vogue and GQ. His pieces have also been exhibited in cities including Buenos Aires, Seoul, Brighton and Shanghai. Remarkably, all of this has been conceived entirely from his studio at the foot of the Andes Mountains.
In this conversation with Time Out, we take a closer look at his creative process to understand how he blends surrealism, nature and, more recently, artificial intelligence while preserving a distinct artistic identity.
From Cosmic Infinity to the Runways of Shanghai: The Origins
Around 2012, Peccinetti was fully focused on his then-musical project, Trasvorder. It was through one of the band's followers that he discovered the art of digital collage. After noticing that the fan used a work by Jesse Treece as a profile picture, he became fascinated. He immediately turned on his computer and began exploring the discipline.
As he recalls, the creative explosion was unstoppable. Between November 2012 and January 2013, he had already produced fifty collages, and by the end of that year he had created two hundred works. The technical formula seemed simple but required deep sensitivity: collecting images from 1950s, 1960s and 1970s magazines—old editions of Vogue and National Geographic among them—and recycling them to build alternative realities.
International recognition followed quickly. True to his philosophy of creating, sharing and letting go of expectations, Instagram's own team contacted him in 2014 to spotlight him as a leading artist on the platform. Later, one of his reels reached eight million views, turning his catalogue into a global viral phenomenon. Still, his definitive leap into the world of major fashion and design brands would come later.
“There were several key moments that acted as turning points in my journey. One was collaborating with Instagram at a time when it was still very unusual for a platform like that to work with digital artists,” Peccinetti recalls.
In 2017 came Gucci, a collaboration that amplified the international reach of his work and strengthened his connection to the fashion world. This was followed by his prominent participation in Shanghai Fashion Week in 2019—a visual showcase on the other side of the globe, conceived from the tranquility of Mendoza. In 2020, Netflix approached him to create original pieces for one of its Instagram profiles, Con Todo Netflix.
“Mendoza gives me a lot of clarity to create. (...) There’s something about the rhythm of the mountains and a certain calmness that I need in order to work”
The Mountains as Both Refuge and Creative Engine
What does Peccinetti gain from living and creating in his home province while working for a fully international market? His answer paints a picture in itself:
“Mendoza gives me a lot of clarity to create. I live very close to the foothills of the Andes, so I’m constantly connected to nature and the landscapes the province offers. There’s something about the rhythm of the mountains and a certain calmness that I need in order to work.”
That connection to the natural environment is evident throughout his work. Snow-capped mountains merge into psychedelic atmospheres; horses gallop across flower-covered hills beneath immaculate skies; waning moons seem to brush the hands of solitary figures suspended above the clouds. It is a striking intersection of the dreamlike and the earthly.
The Leap into Artificial Intelligence: Curation in the Age of Algorithms
The rise of artificial intelligence in the art world has fueled some of the most significant creative debates of recent years. Peccinetti, who built his career through analogue cutouts and traditional digital composition, approached this technological revolution with the same curiosity that propelled him in the beginning.
Although he initially felt some resistance, he soon realized that historical image archives had physical limits. AI emerged as a powerful tool capable of unlocking new levels of imagination.
“Today my process is quite hybrid,” he explains. “I use tools such as Midjourney or Firefly to generate atmospheres, compositions and visual situations, which I then heavily rework in Photoshop. I also use different AI models for animation and spend a lot of time in After Effects to build movement and rhythm into the final pieces.”
He sees technology as a starting point rather than a solution.
Far from delegating creativity to algorithms, Peccinetti is more committed than ever to his craft. “I feel my role as an image curator very strongly. Before, I worked mainly with existing images. Today I often generate hundreds of new ones, and the process is about filtering and selecting the ones that truly carry a specific identity or emotional quality,” he says.
You may also like: Mendoza’s Art Route: Where to Discover Unique Works with a Local Signature
The Soundtrack of an Introspective Journey
Exploring Peccinetti’s universe inevitably means talking about music. The two disciplines are deeply intertwined and constantly feed one another throughout his work.
The study of music therapy, as he has previously mentioned, played a key role in strengthening this sensory fusion. Silence rarely exists in his Mendoza studio. He works immersed in playlists that combine specific sound frequencies, ambient music, neo-soul and jazz.
Alongside his visual career, he leads the indie neo-psychedelic music project Las Luces Primeras. While he enjoys significant local recognition for his musical work, that side of his career has been placed on hold due to the scale of his visual commitments.
“The album is currently on standby, and I plan to return to it as soon as I can. I’m really looking forward to sharing music again with the followers of Las Luces Primeras. Music still occupies a very important place in my life, even if today it appears in a quieter form,” he admits.
“I’m interested in exploring increasingly contemplative images and finding more personal ways of integrating AI into my own artistic language”
What Lies Ahead
Far from settling into the comfort of his success, the artist continues to push his creative boundaries.
“I’m interested in exploring increasingly sensitive and contemplative imagery, and in finding more personal ways to integrate AI into my artistic language,” he reflects.
This aesthetic evolution is accompanied by an organic expansion of his professional role. “In this latest stage, I’ve also started incorporating more creative direction into certain projects, thinking about broader and more complete visual universes.”
At the end of the day, despite international brands knocking on his door because of his distinctive aesthetic, Peccinetti remains in Mendoza. From the serenity of his studio, nourished by the mountains and guided by the same curiosity that led him to assemble his first collage in 2012, his inbox remains open—always ready for the next message inviting him to design new worlds.