A series of work I created as part of What's the Big Idea? focusing on conceptual art, was exhibited at the School of Visual Arts in the Fall of 2023.
Christine DeFazio is an art educator and artist working in the Bronx. She has degrees in Art History and was the Director of Michael Hall Fine Arts, where she wrote several catalogs on 19th Century and Renaissance Sculpture. She is a licensed appraiser and has worked with Sotheby's. Her Pop Art focuses on capturing the psyche of her sitters, often caught in a dilemma expressed through allegory or myth with a touch of Surrealism. She aims to convey stories of love, longing and despair, through her portraiture and imagery of the female form.Â
In her earliest works she created a series of psychological portraits based on her youth from the South Bronx whom she worked with as an art teacher. Recently these portraits were chosen for an exhibition at Bronx Art Space. In these works Christine aimed to convey the hope she had for these youth, along with the ambiguity she noticed in images of their daily life, which often left her worrying.Â
Christine began making art a few years ago, as she was going through a divorce and finding herself.
Artist Statement:Â
Since I was four years old, I’ve been illustrating subjects drawn from my everyday life. My artwork varies between simple comics-style panels with text bubbles and bustling narratives I pull from New York City streets, apartments, and the subway. Inspired by '90s cartoons and millennial nostalgia, my style incorporates thin black lines and vivid colors to capture experiences that are shared universally. With a focus on funny and heartfelt moments, I draw to communicate across cultures and languages in a direct way. Many of my characters can be considered self-portraits, derived from my own characteristics and memories.