“People who are depressed don’t like my paintings,” says artist Charles Fazzino 

Shot on location at Bruno Gallery in Singapore.

Seeing a picture of a Charles Fazzino artwork is almost blasphemous—no 2D image can capture the multi-dimensionality and dynamism of his cut-out works, especially when they’re layered with crystals and other materials.

Encountering one in person is a privilege, particularly given how seminal Fazzino has been. He has painted for almost every US president, with his works hanging in the White House. He is the official artist for Major League Baseball and the National Football League, creating artwork for the All-Star Games and Super Bowl.

What first made him famous, however, were his exuberant cut-outs of New York City. Since then, he has rendered cities across Japan, Korea, Germany, Tel Aviv, and beyond. “I’m now in 30 countries that regularly show my work, and I’m doing shows in at least 20 countries every year.”

Now, for the second time, he turns his gaze to Singapore. Charles Fazzino: The Unbelievable Island of Singapore at 60 has just opened at Bruno Gallery, following a similar exhibition created for SG50.

At the exhibition launch, we sat down with the artist to discuss his beginnings, Selena Gomez, and why children in particular connect with his paintings.

Boulevard: How did you start your career?

Charles Fazzino: My career started in the early 80s in New York after graduating from the School of Visual Arts. I loved pop-out books as a kid—my parents collected them. My father was a shoe designer, my mother a sculptor, so art was always around me.

After school, I tried to publish a pop-up book, but no one was interested. So I pulled out the pages, framed them in boxes, and showed them at an outdoor art fair. I sold out the first day. That’s when I realised this could work. I kept developing the 3D style, and eventually galleries took notice.

Blvd: The first city you worked on was New York City. Why New York?

Fazzino: It was my environment. I wasn’t well-travelled in my 20s, and I was always drawn to big buildings, movement, and colour. As a kid, my mother took us into the city for museums—that had a big influence.

Blvd: How did you get into sports?

Fazzino:  I grew up in the Bronx, a Yankee fan. Many collectors of my work were also baseball and football fans. I approached Major League Baseball (MLB) about doing Yankee Stadium, got a license, and fans loved it.  People loved them—the fans were ravenous because nobody had created artwork depicting their teams.

Later MLB asked me to be their official artist for the All-Star Games, and the National Football League (NFL) did the same for the Super Bowl. I’ve been creating covers, posters, and event artwork for them for over 20 years.

Blvd: Tell us about your collectors.

Fazzino: Germany and Japan are huge markets. Some know me for sports, others for cityscapes. My work seems to cross nationalities—people connect to their own cities.

I notice a commonality between all my collectors. It doesn’t matter if they’re Japanese or German—they love colour. They’re usually fun people. People who are depressed or introverted don’t like my artwork. It’s too busy, too involved, unnerving.

But kids too connect with my artwork. They usually don’t like art when they go to museums with their parents. But when they see my work, they say it’s cool. That’s really great to hear—I started in 1982 and people still say it feels fresh and uplifting. Parents tell me their kids learn through the artwork—they point out hot air balloons, dogs, and little details.

Blvd: And it’s fun to find a place you’ve actually been to before. 

Fazzino: You could sit and stare at my pieces and never see everything. People always tell me, I had this piece on my wall for 15 years and never noticed a topless lady in one of the windows—until my kid pointed it out! Or they see a dog in the artwork that looks exactly like theirs. I like to have fun with it. If you look closely, you’ll see King Kong climbing a building or a dinosaur somewhere.

Blvd: Tell us about your latest exhibition, The Unbelievable Island of Singapore at 60.

Fazzino: For SG50, I researched the city before ever visiting, so people thought I knew Singapore intimately. Since then, I’ve come here often. For SG60, I wanted to show the whole island—even the smaller islands. It’s more comprehensive, and I think more interesting, than the first piece.

You can’t tell from pictures, but when you come here, you feel that intimate quality. Singapore is very unique. So many expats, so many people from so many different areas. It reminds me of a microcosm of New York, because we’re also so mixed with nationalities. I found the same thing in Singapore—it translates to food, restaurants, hotels.

Blvd: What’s the most challenging part of your job?

Fazzino: The hardest thing for me is commissions. I’m working right now on one for Selena Gomez. She’s getting married in September, and I had to create an artwork. 

Commissions are hard because you’re trying to meet a person’s desire for something that may not be natural for me to draw. For example, this one includes Selena and her fiancé Benny Blanco, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara where they’re getting married, her home state of Texas, his home in Virginia, their dogs, and New York because they love the city. I speak to clients to get all the details they want.

This particular commission came through my daughter, who’s also a graffiti artist in New York. She’s friends with the couple gifting Selena the painting. Selena and her friend said they wanted a painting by Fazzino, looked me up online, liked the work, and that’s how it came about.

Blvd: What’s your process like?

Fazzino: In the early days it was just me and my wife cutting them, but now I have a building in New York with 60 artists working for me. I don’t do the cutting and gluing anymore—they would look terrible if I did! I just create the originals.

Everything is cut by hand—no laser machines. Nothing is as perfect as the human eye. That way, no two pieces are the same. The galleries love that—Swarovski crystals, glitter, colours, what’s raised in 3D—they all vary. So everybody gets a unique piece. I let the artists in my studio have freedom, and people love the differences.

Blvd: Given that you started with your and your wife doing the cut-outs, does the success sometimes feel surreal?

Fazzino: Yes. I never thought it would become worldwide. I’m grateful, but there’s still more I’d like to achieve. I’ve done work for presidents and even installations at the White House, but I haven’t had many major museum shows yet. That’s still a dream for me.

Blvd: Part of the appeal of your work is that even children love it—it’s very accessible.

Fazzino: Yes. And it’s fun. You don’t need an art degree or to feel like you can’t understand it conceptually. My artwork is easy to understand, fun to look at, colourful. You don’t need an art education to get it.

Charles Fazzino’s works are displayed at Bruno Gallery, 91 Tanglin Rd, Unit #01 – 03, #02 – 02, Singapore

Read next:

• The interview: Singaporean artist Suzann Victor fractures the colonial gaze at her latest exhibition at Gajah Gallery
• Spinifex artists bring Aboriginal culture and country to canvas at ReDot Fine Art Gallery