At the beating heart of Maria — the vivid study of the opera soprano Maria Callas, starring Angelina Jolie in the titular role — is an exploration of what it means to be an artist: the passion, the pain, the commitment, the glory. And so, to mark the release of the drama from acclaimed filmmaker Pablo Larraín, painter and sculptor Chaz Guest was compelled to make his own creative contribution to the conversation in the form of a diptych of paintings, one of Jolie and one of the woman she so skillfully inhabits for the film. “I was deeply inspired by Angelina and the extraordinary talent she devoted to portraying Maria Callas,” says Guest, known around the world for his figurative — and intensely felt — work.

Chaz Guest

“My love for music and my passion for painting allowed me to merge these two worlds. Angelina’s powerful performance was mesmerizing, and I could only hope my brushes and emotions would successfully bring these two forms of expression together.” With this new work, Guest was keen on portraying the intimate connection created between artist and subject. “I felt privileged to share my interpretation of this extraordinary connection between Angelina and Callas,” he says.