{enter gallery above} Vincent Fasano has created so much work that he is sometimes hard-pressed to remember his paintings. Most of that work is no longer in his possession. It was either used for trade, for money or mostly – gifted to others. Fasano’s work is beautiful and twisted. It’s filled with nursery tale colors and a darkness that can hide some playful humor. In part, he has chosen smartly: he uses found objects – common objects that we all recognize and find familiarity in. He utilizes timeless and intriguing blends of characters and iconography – skeletons and PBR cans, for example. Thousands of years from now and I hope it is Fasano’s work that is unearthed when our Vesuvius explodes and buries our civilization alive. Or dead. True, Fasano’s work comes relatively quickly to him. But this is after a near-lifetime of cultivating the skills that he’s employed in his big, vibrant works. Owing to a background in photography, rock album art and the life around him, Fasano has blended his work in art school with his time spent with Latin American artists – to create something idiosyncratically, his. But socially, his work belongs to so many. His work is part-music, half-baked in rock n’ roll. Often he shows at rock clubs, theaters. Fasano’s paintings are mostly done on found objects: panels and cabinet doors. He finds his mediums in dumpsters and prefers these above canvas because he has a tendency to be rough on his paintings. And while this is the case, and while this is evident in his work – in his textures and emotion, there is a certain refinement to Fasano’s work as well. There is a graceful, peaceful sensibility mashed-in with the dark imagery, the rough line work and the beaten-up panels that his acrylic paints adorn. As a kid, Vincent Fasano was a klutz. He broke bones and stumbled his way into adulthood. So, it is no wonder that he has a penchant for x-rays and human anatomy. Many times he saw his bones being shown on the walls of a doctor’s office. But really, his proclivity for using skeletal structures as characters in so many of his pieces has to do with his interest in Latin American, Mexican, art. Vincent Fasano is wild about bunnies. Er, maybe he spent a lot of time painting them in a ceramics studio for a day job once, and now – he has taken these icons, and now owns them in his work. His work is illustrative. His history with album art and in other design capacities speak to this. Because he works so fast, he uses acrylics – so he can make changes on the fly. He uses ball point pens. Fasano can put together a show quicker than most. For the caliber of work that he produces – it is quite astonishing how quickly he can produce a whole exhibition of work. And others know this. When curators cannot find another artist to fill a show, often times, the call comes to Fasano. Because they know that in only a couple of weeks and he can whip-out a whole new exhibition. For Vincent Fasano, art is his entertainment. It has been a constant in his life. It has lent him his ideologies and provided him with this station in life. And if you ever get a chance to stand in a room full of Fasano’s work – you will be overwhelmed. Fasano fills a room like the shelves of a grocery store: with color and action and almost too much to take-in, in one sitting. Luckily Fasano’s work does come in bit-size, human pieces too. He and his brother Charlie “City Mouse”, the poet – have come-up with a publishing company wherein they have collaborated on books of poetry and children’s books, all with illustrations. I still haven’t met Vincent Fasano, but I wouldn’t doubt it if he were seven feet tall. Walk into a room full of his work and you may get the same feeling too. His work isn’t gigantic, in size. Again, he uses panels and found objects, things that were taken out of houses and businesses. But when his paint is layered over the objects – they become larger. Truly, Vincent Fasano’s work speaks to the notion of blending the life around you into a exploding web of color and light. Polarities and the interweaving text of life and death. If you live in Denver, keep your head up and your eyes open, for Vincent Fasano is hanging on a wall near you. |
