Charles Fazzino is an American pop artist, known for his
silkscreen serigraphs in a 3D pop art style. His artwork was influenced from urban landscapes, sporting events, and celebrities.[1]
Background
Born in 1955, Charles Fazzino is the son of a Finnish sculptor (Irene) and an Italian mode shoe designer (Salvatore). He took his first formal art class as a 7th grader in 1967 and later graduated from the
School of Visual Arts in
Manhattan in 1977 with a degree in Bachelor of Arts.[2]
Fazzino is known for the three-dimensionality of his
silkscreen serigraphs. He showed his first three-dimensional print at the Greenwich Village Art Show in
New York City that May. Fazzino entered the gallery circuit when he sold his first 3D offset
lithographs to a gallery in
Michigan. He began using the
silkscreen printing process in 1986. The artist begins with a sketch of a flat concept idea that is re-worked by freelance illustration artists. The flat sheets return to Fazzino's studio where around 40 freelance artists handcut it with an
Xacto knife, and mount them onto heavier boards using Silicone glue to create the 3D layered effect. Fazzino often equates the process of building up the layers of artwork to "layering it like a lasagna." The 3D artworks were glittered and was given
Swarovski crystals.[7]
During the week leading up to
Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, Charles Fazzino appeared in a segment for Inside Edition.com, during which he was interviewed by the program's guest Super Bowl correspondent Kelleth Cuthbert, aka the Fiji Water Girl.[10]
Fazzino commemorated his twentieth Super Bowl for the
National Football League during
Super Bowl LIV in Miami. The artist appeared at The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and at the Super Bowl Experience in the Miami Beach Convention Center alongside former NY Giant
Mathias Kiwanuka and Miami Dolphin
Davon Godchaux.[11]
League Baseball
Fazzino has created artwork for more thirteen
Major League Baseball All-Star Games. In 2014, when the All-Star Game was in Minneapolis, he partnered with The Minnesota Twins Community Foundation to raise funds.[12]
Fazzino was also commissioned to create the official artwork for the 75th Anniversary of
Little League Baseball. As part of the project, he spent several days in Williamsport in February 2014, conducting educational workshops for students and teachers. The resulting work was exhibited during the World Series at the Gallery at Penn College. Fazzino's official art was also unveiled during the series and installed in the World of Little League Museum.[19][20]
2004 Grammy Awards – Fazzino created the official artwork for the 46th annual Grammy Awards. He joined the ranks of artists such as world-renowned architect
Frank Gehry, Photographer/Filmmaker David LaChapelle, and Mosaic Artist
Roy Feinson, who have all been commissioned by the Academy.[24]
2013 – Warrior Games – Fazzino commissioned by the
United States Olympic Committee to create the official artwork for the 2013 Warrior Games.[26]
Theater
In 2012, he collaborated with the producers of The Ride. The Fazzino Ride was an interactive tour of Manhattan designed by Fazzino and Ride producer Richard Humphrey.[27] The Fazzino Ride was nominated for a 2013
Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.[28]
Winterfest Boat Parade
Charles Fazzino was commissioned to create the official artwork for the 50th anniversary of the Fort Lauderdale Winterfest Boat Parade.[29]
Toys for Tots
In 2022, Fazzino commissioned by the
United States Marin Corps Reserve'sToys for Tots program to create their 75th Anniversary Commemorative art.
Secretary of the NavyCarlos Del Toro unveiled Charles Fazzino's official artwork for the 75th anniversary of the US Corps. Reserve Toys for Tots in 2022. The artwork was mounted on Toys for Tots donation boxes during the 2022 holiday season. [30]
On December 12, 2022, Charles Fazzino participated in the
FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden’s Toys for Tots Annual Sorting Event with
POTUSJoe Biden. On December 13, Fazzino attended a Soft Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Toys for Tots Wall at
The Pentagon, where his Official Toys for Tot’s 75th Anniversary artwork was permanently mounted. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Lieutenant General
David G. Bellon awarded Fazzino the
Department of the Navy’s
Superior Public Service Medal at the end of the ceremony.[31][32][33]
Major works and public installations
JFK International Airport Collection for American Airlines at Terminal 8: The collection includes a 6' by 7' rotating 3D sculpture of an
American Airlines plane entitled From New York...to the World and a 13' three-dimensional mural.[34]
2016 Westchester Medical Center commissioned Charles Fazzino to decorate the outside of their Mobile Health Coach.[35][36]
2018 Stamford, CT commissioned Fazzino to paint outdoor kiosks.[37]
2018 The city of New Rochelle, New York commissioned Charles Fazzino and his artist daughter Heather Fazzino to create and unveil the first of a series of public sculptures installed around the city to promote the "Ideally Yours" campaign.[38]
2018
NBC Sports commissioned Charles Fazzino to create an artwork celebrating their achievement of
NBC Sunday Night Football becoming the number one show in prime time for seven consecutive years. Charles Fazzino, along with NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus and Sunday Night Football director Fred Gaudelli unveiled the work at the network's NBC Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.[40]
2019 Fazzino was commissioned to create two 16-foot tall steel sculptures, two indoor murals, and a seating area for Fiesta, in Busan, Korea.[41][42]
In 2010–2011, Fazzino hosted a major museum exhibition titled "The Faces of Fort Lauderdale" at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale. The exhibition celebrated the 100-year history of the area.[43]
Fazzino's first major museum exhibition in Germany took place from April 27 through June 22 at the International Academy of Art in Hembach.[44][45] The district of Kreis Duren invited the artist to exhibit at the Academy and commissioned him to create an edition of artwork titled "For the Love of Kreis Düren".[46]
In 2015, Fazzino was chosen to participate in a group show at the
Coral Springs Museum of Art in Florida. The show, titled "The Art of Pop & Comics" featured eight pieces by Fazzino, including a tribute to the Masters titled "A Cartoon Celebration of the Masters," in which Fazzino weaves cartoon characters into pieced-together scenes. "This is a tribute piece," said Fazzino. "The paintings I chose from the Masters are so incredibly recognizable, as are the characters now interwoven throughout them. It's a meeting of two worlds with two different languages that come together in this one, intricately assembled, composition."[47][48]
In 2015, Fazzino was commissioned to create an artwork celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Singapore. He made his debut in the country in May 2015 to participate in several receptions and a media tour.[49][50][51]
In 2017,
Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County opened a Fazzino exhibit in their museum titled "The Heroes of the Holocaust," featuring several new original works, and a series of
plexiglass sculptures paying tribute to those who saved the lives of Jews during and after World War II. The limited edition artwork created specifically for the exhibit, "After the Darkness" was unveiled by
Dani Dayan, Counsel General of Israel in New York.[52]
In 2021, Charles Fazzino was commissioned by the
National September 11 Museum & Memorial to create an image in tribute to the 20th anniversary of the
World Trade Center terrorist attacks. The artwork was unveiled in a ceremony at the Museum with Anthoula Katsimatides, 9/11 family member; Joseph Esposito, former Chief of Department,
NYPD; Salvatore Cassano, former Commissioner,
FDNY; Salvatore Carcaterra, former Deputy Chief, NYPD; and San Panchal, former 1st grade detective, NYPD,
Bernie Williams, retired NY Yankee,
Pete Alonso, NY Met. [53]
In 2024, the
Osthuas Museum Hagen selected Charles Fazzino's artwork to be featured in a tribute exhibition for pop artist
Joe Tilson. For the month of February, a selection of Fazzino's artwork was exhibited alongside the work of the late British artist and other renown pop artists.[54]
3D Studio Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA[69]
Ocean Galleries, Stone Harbor, NJ,[70][71]
Wentworth Galleries in Atlanta, GA; Boca Raton, FL; Hollywood, FL; Fort Lauderdale, FL Short Hills, NJ; Alexandria, VA; Bethesda, MD; King of Prussia, PA [72]
Art One Gallery, Hollywood, CA
Barker Animation, Cheshire, CT [73]
Books
June Vollman, Andrea Ruoff-Appel, Shari Ruoff & Charles Fazzino: Regards From Broadway Andrea Ruoff Art Associates, 1991,
ISBN978-0-9629193-0-5
Heike Theuerkauf, Charles Fazzino, Marshall Lee, Phillip Davies: Charles Fazzino. Balance House, 1996,
ISBN0-940577-04-6
Julie Maner, Charles Fazzino: Charles Fazzino, the master of 3-D pop art. Te Neues Verlag, 1999,
ISBN3-8238-5441-0
Julie Maner, Charles Fazzino: Traffic 9 to 5, 24/7 Museum Editions, Ltd, 2004,
ISBN978-0-9755008-0-4
Frank Radice, Vida Radice, Charles Fazzino: Sam Katz on the Loose! Random House Children's Books, 2005,
ISBN0-375-83120-7
Julie Maner, Charles Fazzino: Fazzino's Passport to Our World Museum Editions, Ltd, 2007
Charles Fazzino, Julie Maner: Now Playing on Broadway. Museums Edition Ltd., 2010,
ISBN0-9755008-4-8
Julie Maner, Charles Fazzino: O' Beautiful For Spacious Skies. Museums Edition Ltd., 2014,
ISBN0-9755008-5-6
Julie Maner, Charles Fazzino: The Sun Shines Bright Over the Big Apple. Museum Editions, Ltd., 2020
ISBN978-0-9755008-1-1
References
^Julie Maner, Charles Fazzino: Charles Fazzino, The Master of 3-D pop art. Distributed by Te Neues Publishing Company, NY,
ISBN3823854429