Daria Petrilli (b. 1970) lives and works in Rome, Italy. She is a graphic designer, publicist, and pop surrealist artist, and a member of the Italian Association of Illustrators.

Her practice combines reworked photography with hand-painted sketches, digitally layered to create distinctive, dreamlike compositions. Petrilli is best known for her unique portraits of women, through which she explores themes of dreams, desire, and obsession. Her works move fluidly between reality and imagination, employing an elegant and sublime visual language that plays on a fil rouge of ambiguity.

Deeply influenced by the enchantment of the Italian Renaissance and the underground language of Pop Surrealism, Petrilli’s approach is deliberately provocative. As she describes: “I remix photographs with digital painting interventions, create a collage… a riot of Photoshop! I could have used traditional tools as well, but these illustrations were born out of personal fun and I made them without the vetoes of a commission and in the most immediate way. I hope to produce more, if I am not interrupted too often by what is outside the screen of my Mac!”

Petrilli has received widespread recognition and awards for her work. Her innate gift for creating harmonious ensembles has enabled her to design fashion collections and develop product lines for prestigious companies such as Shiseido and Miss Sixty. She has also designed book covers for leading Italian and international publishing houses.