About Me

I was born and raised in a small village at the foot of the mountains, near Turin.

I was taught that nature is something that can surround you, embrace you, make you feel alive; and that the scent of mountain mist can lead you back home. I was taught that every single moment of life should be touched with gentleness, and even more gently, what is no longer life. I was taught to marvel, still.

And this is what I strive to express through my art. My creations find their place in forests wrapped in magic, in stormy skies, in dark waters lit by the moon, and in abandoned dwellings that still whisper stories brimming with life. I speak of fairy tales, of journeys into a deep and hidden inner world.

Of intimacy lost among the close chimes of a pendulum clock.

My artistic practice stems from an inner urgency: the need to express deep emotions, to give visual form to feelings, memories, and questions that resonate with childhood and the passing of time. My works are the result of a layered process: I start with photographic and digital elements, which I integrate with digital painting and further manual interventions on canvas using oil or acrylic. Each painting thus becomes a suspended space where past and present merge.

The subjects—often young girls, female figures caught between dream and memory—emerge from an imagery that blends Pre-Raphaelite influences, personal experiences, dreams, and real encounters. Nature, abandoned places, and the atmosphere of my childhood are constant inner and visual presences.

The presence of animals often plays a central role: they are mediators, silent storytellers who gaze at the viewer and invite them into the scene, prompting introspection. They form a bridge between the artwork and the observer, much like in the languages of childhood, where animals are pure and direct messengers.

My works do not offer answers, but questions. I want the viewer to feel compelled to pause, to reflect, to recognize an echo within themselves. Nostalgia, unease, intimacy: each painting is an open threshold toward a dialogue with one’s inner child.

Maria Chiara Piglione is a visual artist who creates worlds suspended between dream and memory, where childhood, nature, and the unconscious intertwine in layered and symbolic compositions. Her works emerge from a hybrid process: they begin with photographic and digital elements, are enriched with digital painting, and are completed with material interventions on canvas, resulting in images with strong emotional and narrative power.

Her subjects—often female figures and animals—arise from an imagination that blends Pre-Raphaelite inspirations, personal experiences, and dreamlike visions. Each scene is an invitation to inner reflection, a silent tale that questions the viewer, evoking nostalgia, unease, and wonder.

Born in Ciriè in 1982, after studying Chemical Engineering and pursuing a career in scientific research, she chose to devote herself fully to her artistic calling. She lives and works in the province of Turin. Her works have been exhibited in solo and group shows in Italy and are part of an increasingly distinctive and personal artistic production.

Maria Chiara Piglione

Self-taught visual artist, active since 2019. Her practice blends digital collage, painting, and emotional storytelling, deeply connected to a symbolic, dreamlike, and childlike visual world.

Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions

2025
– Giardini Segreti, two-person exhibition, Palazzo D’Oria, Ciriè (TO)

2024
– Di Fiaba, di Sogno e di Cucina, solo exhibition, Ristorante Vecchio Macello, San Maurizio Canavese (TO)
– La Scatola dei Sogni, solo exhibition, Lastra Gallery, Alba (CN)

2023
– Il Sogno e la Materia, two-person exhibition, Labbò, San Maurizio Canavese (TO)
– Curiosities, two-person exhibition, Galleria Marzia Boaglio, Turin

2022
– La Scatola dei Sogni, solo exhibition, Ronchiverdi, Turin

2020
– The Other Side, solo exhibition, Marvin, Turin
– Beyond Alice’s Mirror, solo exhibition curated by Tiziana Bonomo, Spazio Eventa, Turin

2019
– (Im)possibilities, solo exhibition, Galleria d’Arte Picta, Ciriè (TO)
– Universi Paralleli, two-person exhibition, Ciriè (TO)

Group Exhibitions / Art Fairs / Selections

2023
– Paratissima – Unpredictable, Cavallerizza Reale, Turin

2019
– Paratissima – Multiversity, Cavallerizza Reale, Turin

Education

Self-taught artist, active since 2019. Academic background in chemical engineering.