About The Artist

I don't have a memory of me without either a pencil or a brush in my hand. But my parents had other plans for my future, so I wasn't allowed to study art. I bargained with them an evening class on oil painting when I was 14. It was a cheap course for adults and I was the only kid there, but my teacher, the Italian painter Achille Zoccola, never treated me anything less than the others. Above all he gave me courage to believe in my abilities and in 2005 I graduated with honours in Science of Cultural Heritage at the Università Statale in Milan and again with honours in Art History in 2008. I consider myself a self-taught artist and so far I've exhibited in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands. In my personal research I aim to combine two essential qualities: idea and technique. I mainly use oil colours on canvases in order to create vivid and realistic portraits. Studying Art History helped me to develop a series of paintings inspired by famous artworks: the result is a surprising and funny rendition of these masterpieces that makes them more appealing to a young and modern public. Along with this, I consider myself a very accurate and elegant portrait painter. www.chiaracastagna.com