CHRIZ (Christian Z) is an Italian artist whose work centers on the intersection of language, identity, and form. Using individual typographic characters applied and layered by hand onto metal panels, he builds figures and faces that materialize from darkness. For CHRIZ, the letter comes before the image, serving as the foundational element from which meaning and the human form arise. The resulting figures are mutable and fragile, shaped by the passage through letters rather than the reading of text. Distinct from traditional text-based art, his practice occupies a space between contemporary figuration and conceptual inquiry within a highly digital context, focusing on moments when words become images.