In a New York State of mind

Commentary of the picture:

New York has always been a great source of inspiration for artists who have depicted a wide range of its scenes throughout history. This is the case of Charles Fazzino, who dedicated many of his works to New York city, with variations on the Big Apple combined with its symbols: Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Metro, even night views with fireworks and homages to 9/11.

The urban landscapes are undoubtedly one of the preferred themes of this American Pop artist, known for his colourful, rich a detailed three-dimensional creations. Fazzino recreates the essence of the places he depicts through a painstaking process of cut-out pieces stuck in layers on to the background.

In a New York State of Mind, in the Carmen Thyssen Collection, is a classic portrayal of one of the city’s panoramas, showing the most typical and iconic buildings, monuments and places in New York. The city’s identity is reflectad in these emblematic elements but also through the activity in its streets. Here, Fazzino tells sto¬ries through the New York characters and vehicles that give move¬ment to the city.

In the foreground of the composition, various elements of society can be seen in a daytime scenario, ranging from a kiosk and street vendors to people out for a stroll and loving couples. lt would be incompleta without the traffic that is so typical of this metropolis, including the typical New York taxis, limos, sportscars, motorbikes, delivery vans, police cars and buses. In the centre of the work are multiple buildings, with shopping malls, restaurants and bars, the Bank of New York, Broadway musicals, hotels and a towering skyscraper on the right – the Empire State Building, seemingly awaiting the arrival of King Kong who is still a few blocks away. The upper part of the painting stands out with its depiction of nighttime in the city that never sleeps; Central Park rises up into the starry sky, with the ice rink, planetarium, theatres, universities, Lincoln Center plaza and the US flag.

To achieve the impact of his laborious 3D technique, the artist cuts out each of the previously-created elements of the composition by hand, with a precision knife, then sticks them one on top of another with silicone, forming layers as it hardens. The silicone adds volume to each depicted object, making it project according to the number of layers, providing depth and a three-dimensional effect. Sorne elements have two or three different levels or even up to six if the silicone is applied in smaller amounts.

In his earliest creations, Fazzino applied acrylic paint with glitter and Swarovski crystals to hide minor imperfections in his work but, on seeing the final result, the artist decided to apply these finishes y of his works to add flecks of light to his colourful, vibrant compositions.

Núria Parés