Charles Fazzino – Master of 3D Pop Art

What do you get when you cross an Italian shoe designer and a Finnish sculptor? One completely American 3D artist named Charles Fazzino. Fazzino spent his childhood observing his parents pouring into their individual careers, and this early exposure to fulfilling artistic work encouraged him to pursue his own. “I said, ‘Well, I’m going to become an artist because I want to be successful’”. Fazzino recognizes that this was and is an admittedly different path than most, but it is one that has clearly worked out well for him.

Fazzino’s mother was the one who originally encouraged him to look at his art through a more 3D informed lens. Originally from Finland, she had an interest in collecting American pop up books. This unique interest stemmed from her love of European-style advent calendars. When Fazzino graduated from art school in the late 1970s, his mother told him he should pursue a career in creating his own pop-up books. When things didn’t pan out in the pop-up books route, she invited Fazzino to an art show in Greenwich Village. Fazzino shared that while he didn’t have much to show, he did have his pop-up books. “I took my pop-out book, ripped it apart, framed them, and put them in the show… the first few hours of the show, I sold none of my artwork…but I sold all the 3D pop out pages, so I knew I was on to something”.

Fazzino’s work is varied to say the least. He has created pieces for American Airlines, Toys for Tots, is officially licensed by the MLB and NFL and crafts cityscapes of locations around the globe. “I love them all,” said Fazzino. “It’s a challenge all the time for me.    And I find it fun to be challenged by each different theme that I pick up”. While the topics are numerous, Fazzino’s style keeps true to his unique methodology and  technique. The pictures do not just figuratively jump off the page – they literally do. The pieces are as three dimensional now as they were for his first foray into those long-ago pop-up books. Fazzino still painstakingly hand cuts the 3D elements of his pieces, placing them with the utmost care and thought. He utilizes vivid colors and glittery Swarovski crystals to present scenes that are bursting with life and a distinctly American vitality. Fazzino shared that his largest markets are surprisingly in Europe and Asia rather than in the United States. “I think the reason why people respond so well internationally to (the art) is because when they see my artwork, they see what they’d like to see New York look like and the fantasy surrounding it.”.

Exciting new works for Fazzino lie just around the corner. On the 23rd of September a new museum will be opening up at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, one block down from the White House. “The People’s House: A White House Experience” will allow visitors to engage with a replica of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and delve deeper into American history. The White House Historical Association has commissioned Fazzino to create original pieces of art to be placed in the new museum. Over the last several years Fazzino has traveled around the world selling and creating art with his daughter Heather who, just like her father, has followed in the family’s artistic footsteps. Find out more about the unique work of Charles Fazzino at fazzino.com and his daughter at heatherlfazzino.com.