The Miaz Brothers present a radical new take on portraiture. The Italian duo, who are indeed siblings, create large-format works on canvas, using spray paint as it never has been used before.
The Antimatter Series, as their body of work is known, incorporates a diverse and refreshing range of subjects. It includes portraits of their friends, their dear departed (Ghosts), philosophers, fashionable young Japanese women, and figures from the era of the English Restoration (Masters).
While they employ aerosol paints, the Miaz Brothers have never been street artists, nor are they ever likely to start. "We use it to represent the fact that we are composed of infinite particles in continuous evolution, which change in tandem with the complex reality that surrounds us". The spray paint produces the blurred effect that defines the duo's work: "dematerializing the lines, we gain a substantial indetermination of the picture. This skips any immediate reaction and provokes the viewer to use mnemonic associations instead for their own personal visual information encoding".
While they possess multi-disciplinary skills, the brothers are inclined towards portrait painting, as it in itself "prompts questions about the transitory nature of existence". Ultimately though, the Antimatter Series is a stunning selection of artworks.
"We look to provide a visual experience that activates our awareness, that compels the viewer to recognize and re-establish the limits of his or her own perception, to regain control of the real."
Born in 1965 and 1968 in Monza, Italy, the Miaz Brothers studied at the Artistic High School of Cantu, in the province of Como from 1980 to 1984, before joining the European Institute of Design (IED) in Milan. In 1989, the two brothers presented their first solo exhibitions: “Skins”, “The Anarchists” (1990), “The Artists” (1991), “Safe Box” (1994) and “New Age” (1995). They have collaborated with major international brands like Adidas, Swatch, Diesel, Kenzo… In 2010, they received the biennial Art Prize from the Museum of Amposta in Barcelona before being awarded the Laguna International Art Prize in Venice the following year. In 2012, the Miaz Brothers started focusing on serial works with the “Antimatter series” in Milan or the “Masters series” in Venice, leading to a whole new chapter in their artistic journey. They live and work in Valencia, Spain.