Featured Artist: Alfredo Muccino

Alfredo Muccino was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and raised as an Italian. His father’s engineering career took the family across the world, from Mexico and Brazil to Egypt, Iraq, Venezuela, and the UK, before settling in the United States. Alongside this nomadic lifestyle, his father was a painter and an artist. Muccino would imitate his work while drawing and painting together as a family. His father’s artistic career significantly influenced his early relationship with art and personal identity. 

Muccino’s artistry has been influenced by artists like Picasso, Matisse, and Basquiat, as well as the art and architecture of Rome, where he grew up. As Muccino recalled, “A lot of it also comes from growing up in Rome as a kid, riding my bicycle around, drawing the statues of Bernini and the churches of Michelangelo.” Despite his struggles to call himself an artist, Muccino eventually became a creative director and built several businesses in San Jose, including Liquid Agency and Solid Branding. Now, he is ready to return to his roots with a solo show, two decades after his first collaborative exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art. This solo exhibition weaves his life, early experiences, and later influences and showcases his meditations on life, mortality, and the death of dreams.

Muccino’s art is deeply personal and reflective. At the heart of his philosophy is the idea that dreams can change over time as we age, reflecting on his hopeful arrival in the U.S. and the reality he sees now. “When I first came to this country… I came here with big eyes and dreams about what my life could be like,” Muccino says. “In some ways, where we are today hasn’t lived up to those dreams… perhaps that’s affecting many people, not just myself.” He hopes to explore the disparity between memory and reality through his show, turning his personal reflection into a shared experience. Furthermore, Muccino wants to remind viewers that it’s okay for all of us to feel that sense of loss and transition, and even when dreams don’t unfold as planned, they still hold meaning and beauty.

Muccino will present his MEMORIES & DREAMS exhibition at the Morgann Trumbull Project, a pop-up gallery in San Jose’s SoFA District on November 7, 2025.

Follow Alfredo on Instagram at alfredo.muccino and his website, alfredomuccino.art

Check out the upcoming Morgann Trumbull Projects’ exhibitions at morganntrumbull.com 

Artwork:
Image #1
Immortality, 24″×24″, acrylic on canvas, wood frame, 2021

Image #2
Figure #28, 2025, acrylic on wood, 24″x24″

Image #3
Memento Mori, 2025, acrylic on wood, 24-inch circle

Image #4
Death Mask, 2025, acrylic on wood,14″x12″