My portraits are both intimate and remote at the same time; they are a mirror looking back at me. As a teenager, I moved with my family to northern Italy, a transition that I welcomed. Thanks to a talented ear I learned Italian, and my time as the outsider looking in, only lasted a short while. Portrait painting was a method to create a sense of belonging, while still on the outside.

I may have left Italy, but the life and education I received there remain influential in my work. In Italy, I was surrounded by hundreds of years of pieces striving for perfection. A former teacher once said to me that art is an example of what can survive of the excellence of human beings. It may be antiquated, but I work toward perfecting the line, the color and the composition of each piece. The subject may feel modern, but I want to strive for the perfect technique, much like my principal influences: Giovanni Boldini, Pietro Perugino, Diego Velasquez, Pietro Cascella, and Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Each piece is an attempt to find an equilibrium. Often, the subjects I choose to paint feel like a pop culture reference, but they are balanced with strong technique and heavy art history references. Finding equilibrium is important to me. I come from two different cultures: Peruvian and Italian. I need to find a way for both sides of myself to co-exist. As much as Boldini, John Singer Sargent or Velasquez influence my work, so do photographers such as Terry Richardson, Mario Testino, Richard Avedon, or directors such as Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick, Elio Petri, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Website: samiariaz.com
Instagram: @samiariazfinearts