Albinea, Italy-based artist Marco Grassi paints incredibly hyperrealistic portraits that venture into the realm of the surreal with unconventional twists on beauty. While his subjects are primarily young women in traditional studio settings, each portrait strays from the familiar thanks to unusual embellishments that cause a double-take.
Grassi’s paintings are already astonishing for their striking resemblances to photographs. Zooming in on the details, each pore, freckle, eyelash, and strand of hair is reproduced realistically on canvas. The surprise comes from the curious touches that the artist adds to each subject. In one painting, a woman’s back is adorned with a baroque, carved design that reveals her hollow interior. In another image, spectacular tattoos blossom organically across the subject’s skin. Another model sports a translucent, futuristic-looking shawl that appears to be made from glass. These ornamentations, coupled with Grassi’s hyperrealistic style, make for uniquely lovely, sometimes haunting, works of art.
