Pia’s work often challenges the viewer’s ability to appreciate the uncomfortable. Using a variety of media that can span from coffee stains to oils and pastels, she strives to always find the perfect material to convey a message that supersedes the object itself. Her techniques are as versatile as her themes and works. Pia has said that her paintings are “like optical illusions -hyper realistic and abstract at the same time- confusing the observer’s distinction between subject and object, form and content, the real and the imaginary…” She can go from realistic outlined portraits like she does on her Women in Shock series, to subtle pastel and acrylic impressionist fabrics as in Supernatural Thing, or even go as far as to create a hyper-realistic illusion of camouflage and deception as she does in her oils in Vanishing Act. In either case, her liminal approach is always in the verge of the real and the surreal. The female form usually occupies an important role in her work, either as inspiration, symbolism, or straightforward study. Yet, she can balance femininity with masculinity as her women figures tend to have a strong and unerring posture that balances well with the cultural, social or political messages she seeks to convey.
