Daniel Zalla

Biography

Daniel Zalla was born in 1998 in Arizona. As a young child he moved with his family to Northern Kentucky, where he was exposed to great art at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington. Simultaneously, he spent much of his time drawing and receiving private art instruction. These experiences led him to pursue a BFA in drawing and painting from Xavier University. Halfway through his college career he made his first visit to Italy to study art in Rome and Florence. He attended a workshop at the Florence Academy of Art where he was introduced to the sight size method and drawing from life. These experiences motivated his pursuit of a more technical training in oil painting, and after graduating from Xavier in 2020, he enrolled in the Florence Academy of Art as a full-time student. He graduated in 2023 and was awarded “Best Painting of the Year” for his final project at the Academy. Following his studies, he was given the opportunity to teach and paint as a Fourth Year Artist in Residence at The Florence Academy. Daniel looks forward to passing down the language of the old masters as he continues to teach at the Florence Academy. In his own work he strives to distill the humanity of his sitters onto the canvas and to tell a story that moves the soul.