The Studio
About
Pioneering stories and visual arts. Bringing the performing arts into the wider art market.
Led by Arsalan Sattari-Hicks and Francesco Pierangeli, StageBlock studio fuses traditional mediums with cutting edge technologies to create physical works of art for the digital age. Rooted in tradition, driven by innovation, featuring revered global talents.
Kinetic, interactive and experiential artworks featuring world renowned subjects. Where each unique and reimagined piece of living portraiture and collectable performance is presented through physical and deeply intimate displays.
Commissions
We accept a limited number of private commissions each year, creating work that embodies the individuality of both the sitter and the commissioner. Every artwork is brought to life through a detailed, collaborative process - from concept to final installation - producing a piece that endures.
Arsalan
Sattari-Hicks
Creative Director
Arsalan is the co-founder and the creative director behind the studio, overseeing concept development, talent collaboration, design, and production. His work fuses a deep understanding of live performance with a bold, original approach to portraiture and storytelling.
With over a decade of experience as a creative producer in theatre and live performance, Arsalan has commissioned and developed critically acclaimed projects with internationally recognised artists across the UK and US. He is an Associate Producer at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre in London and Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company in New York, and an alum of the Sundance Institute’s Producers Program. He has conducted doctoral research in audience development and production across live and visual arts while at Goldsmiths University of London, and holds an MSc in Creative and Cultural Industry Management and a BA in Economics and Management from University of Sheffield.
Francesco
Pierangeli
Co-Founder
Dr. Francesco Pierangeli is the co-founder of StageBlock, leading the studio's exploration beyond the creative. He focuses on advancing the technological landscape and forging broader partnerships that expand the studio's reach and impact globally.
An academic at the University of Birmingham, his research focuses on the integration of emerging technologies into socio-economic systems. He is Deputy Director of the UK Centre for Blockchain Technologies, where he leads the development of a global research network dedicated to building more transparent, efficient, and equitable models of value exchange. Francesco is also a patron of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts and has co-founded several initiatives within the creative industries. He holds a PhD jointly awarded by King’s College London and the National University of Singapore. Prior to his academic career, he worked in finance at J.P. Morgan and UBS.
Associated Artists
After fifteen years directing many productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he was the Artistic Director of The Other Place Theatre, Ron was named an RSC Honorary Associate Director. He is a guest lecturer at Yale University, and a former Associate Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theatre, and head of the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University.
Honorary Patrons
Advisory Board
Our Process
Experimentation is both instinct and method. From sketchbooks to storyboards to speculative renderings, we explore a range of mediums - photographic, generative, and tactile - in search of a visual language that resonates with the subject.
We embrace missteps, welcome detours, and follow creative intuition wherever it leads, until something wholly unexpected takes shape.
Once the conceptual direction is set, we enter a focused stage of development, shaping how each portrait will live, move, and resonate. This is where intuition meets structure. We translate artistic ideas into digital form, refining tone, gesture, and presence through a collaborative process across disciplines.
Rather than chasing spectacle, we work toward clarity and coherence — crafting each portrait’s internal rhythm, atmosphere, and emotional weight. The goal is not to foreground technique, but to make space for stillness and authenticity, so that the subject need not perform, but can simply exist, breathe, and be.
In production, we shift from exploration to execution. This is where the work is calibrated for light, space, and longevity. Each portrait is produced using a blend of in-house systems and bespoke fabrication, developed in close collaboration with our subjects.
No two works follow the same route, but each is held to the same standard: clarity of image, integrity of form, and respect for the subject’s presence.
Refinement is where the portrait settles into its final voice. Here, we tune the emotional register, colour, movement, texture, and ensure every detail resonates with the subject.
It’s a long, solitary and quiet process but an essential stage. We revisit each frame with fresh perspective, refining tone and clarity without disturbing what’s already working. Nothing is added without purpose; nothing remains without reason.
The frame is more than a container, it’s part of the portrait’s presence. Each StageBlock piece is encased in a custom-built structure that balances protection, performance, and design.
Housing internal systems and ensuring stability over time, our frames are fabricated with care and finish in mind, from hand-treated woods to bespoke metalwork. Each decision is led by the artwork and the collectors.
Our portraits carry not only image and story but a digital fingerprint. Through blockchain digital tokens, each work holds a permanent, verifiable record. This pioneering approach is part of StageBlock’s ongoing exploration of how technology can deepen trust, transparency, and connection in the way art’s legacy is shared and safeguarded.
We collaborate closely with collectors and venues to ensure every StageBlock portrait is installed with precision and care. From initial site consultation to mounting and final calibration, our team manages each step, delivering a smooth, seamless experience whether the work is destined for a private collection or a museum-grade environment.
Preserving legacy is at the heart of what we do. Each StageBlock portrait is crafted with durability in mind - from the choice of materials to the media itself. We provide lifetime support for both software and hardware, backed by securely archived documentation. Our team remains a committed partner for updates, repairs, and migrations, ensuring your artwork remains as vital years from now as the day it was created.
Our Ethos
Artwork
Accessibility
Bridging the gap between tradition and innovation, we ensure our digital portraits can be appreciated by both conventional collectors and those eager to explore contemporary forms.
Digital
Adoption
We guide audiences and collectors in embracing digital art sustainably, combining cutting-edge technology with enduring craftsmanship and environmental care.
Essays
"StageBlock Studio operates at the intersection of portraiture, performance, and technology, continuing a lineage that stretches from traditional theatrical painting to the time-based experiments of artists like Andy Warhol. Just as Warhol’s screen tests transformed the moving image into a form of psychological portraiture, Sattari-Hicks and StageBlock Studio reimagine the actor’s portrait as an event - a collaboration between stillness and potential, image and identity, while carving out a new space in contemporary portraiture, one that is both reverent and radically inventive...."
"... their work speaks fluently to both traditional collectors and institutions rooted in oil and canvas, and to those embracing the future of digital art with equal reverence. By presenting digital portraiture with the gravitas, craftsmanship, and curatorial rigor typically reserved for traditional media, the studio invites established audiences to expand their definitions of permanence, while providing new collectors with an accessible entry point into a lineage of portraiture - positioning physical digital art not as a departure from tradition, but as its natural evolution..."
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Contact
86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE
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© 2025 StageBlock Ltd. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.
Company registered in England #13367743
Sustainable
Practices
Environmental responsibility is central. We use sustainable production techniques, responsibly sourced materials, and adopt low-impact digital platforms to minimise our ecological footprint.
Ethical
Production
Every Living Portrait is crafted without AI, respecting the human artistry and soul behind each piece. We follow traditional, ethical methods that honor the artists and their creative vision.
Community
Support
We aim to reinvest in the live performance community, supporting artists, institutions, and projects. Our work remains accessible and created to be shared publicly.