The Melbourne-based artist has spent the past month working frenetically in a studio in SoHo, downtown Manhattan, depicting individuals whom he believes shape and define contemporary New York. Each of Fantauzzo’s subjects are people the artist either knows or has met while in New York attending events such as Fashion Week, nightclub openings or simply by walking around the city and striking up conversations with strangers.

“I love the diversity of place and people, and New York has such an array of interesting characters,” he says. “I have an excuse because I’m doing a painting, as a way of getting to know people more. “You throw yourself into a new city; if you’re new you’re more likely to meet people. It wasn’t planned at all; I knew I was coming to New York and would paint but it wasn’t until I got here that I decided I should do it, and I knew I could do it [30 portraits in one month] because I’ve done it before in Hong Kong.”

The enormous undertaking has seen the affable Fantauzzo, 33, noticed by Aldon James, president of the prestigious National Arts Club in New York, which will exhibit the 30 works from tomorrow. While portraiture traditionally depicted the rich and mighty, Fantauzzo’s works reflect popular culture with his preference for beautiful, youthful and well-known figures, and he has stated that while people relate to his photo realism, they connect mostly to his well-known subjects.

Fantauzzo’s canny choice of subjects has been crucial to his success in winning the popular vote in Australia’s premier portraiture competition, the Archibald Prize, two years running, first for Heath Ledger then for the young Aboriginal actor Brandon Walters.

Fantauzzo’s latest subjects came from a roll-call of New York’s hippest cultural figures, including Aldon James; Jefferson Hack, the co-founder of the hip periodical Dazed & Confused and ex-partner of model Kate Moss; the DJ Mark Ronson; supermodel Chanel Iman; former heavyweight boxing world champion Lennox Lewis; actor and screenwriter Justin Theroux; Australian model Jessica Hart; tattooist Scott Campbell, who was responsible for Ledger’s body art; 1970s rock photographer Mick Rock and IMG Group’s Fern Mallis, the woman responsible for organising New York Fashion Week. But one of the most striking works is of a four-year-old boy named Ezekial, who was on the street with his mother when Fantauzzo met them.

“He just looked so New York,” Fantauzzo says of the child. “I just saw him dancing in the street and thought, ‘I have to paint him’. “The 30 Portraits in 30 Days project has enabled Fantauzzo to further hone his impressive technical skill in producing photo realist paintings. “It takes about six to eight hours to paint each one and I paint in the early morning,” he says. “I’m pretty stuffed. I get between three and five hours of sleep during the week and then once a week I’ll have a big 10 hours of sleep.”

Fantauzzo says he won’t enter any of these portraits into the 2011 Archibald, nor does he intend to sell any of the works individually. “They are not for sale, I don’t want anyone to think I’ve painted them to make money,” he says. “I’d like to see them remain together as a body of work, maybe hanging in a public space where people can see them.”With the completion of the project, Fantauzzo is considering painting another portrait of Hart or perhaps one of his friend Baz Luhrmann for next year’s Archibald.

By Carmel Melouney

via www.smh.com.au

The most recent – and hugely ambitious – project of Fantauzzo is ’30 portraits in 30 days: New York City’, the artist’s ‘portrait’ of New York and its people. He began the project on September 1st and we have been following ever since. Have a look at a sample of the portraits he has created over the past few weeks of subjects including New York-based Australian model Jess Hart, musician/producer Mark Ronson, legendary rock and roll photographer Mick Rock among others. The artworks are jaw dropping – particularly when you consider he’s averaging one a day

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“Often referred to as The Man Who Shot the Seventies, legendary rock and roll photographer Mick Rock first met David Bowie in early 1972. Most of the memorable images of David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust were shot by Mick Rock in his capacity as the official Bowie photographer.”