Vincent Fantauzzo
Vincent Fantauzzo (born 1977) is an Australian portrait artist. He is known for his award-winning portraits of Heath Ledger, Brandon Walters, Matt Moran, Emma Hack, Baz Luhrmann, and his wife Asher Keddie. He has won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize twice, the Archibald Packing Room Prize, and the Archibald People's Choice Award four times.
Early life and education
[edit]Vincent Fantauzzo was born in Manchester, England in 1977.[1] His family migrated to Australia when he was a child.[2]
He has a Bachelor of Fine Art (Painting) (2003) and a Master of Fine Art (2005) from RMIT University in Melbourne.[2]
Career
[edit]Fantauzzo is known for his photorealistic style.[3]
Fantauzzo has had solo exhibitions at Dianne Tanzer Gallery in Melbourne in 2007 and 2008 and in Mumbai India in 2007. He won the 2003 Tolarno RMIT Partnership Prize and was a finalist in the 2007 Shirley Hannan Portrait Prize, City of Darebin La Trobe University Acquisitive Art Prize (DLAP), Whyalla Art Award, and Duke Gold Coast Art Prize.[2]
In 2008 he was awarded an artist's residency at Chancery Lane Gallery in Hong Kong where he had a solo exhibition. He has also had solo exhibitions at the L. A. Art Fair and at Sydney's Boutwell Draper Gallery, which coincided with the opening of the Archibald. He was a finalist in 2008's Metro 5 Art Award, and Duke Gold Coast Art Prize.[4]
Fantauzzo was chosen to paint the official portrait of former Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2017.[5] The portrait was unveiled in Parliament House, Canberra, on 24 October 2018.[6]
Melbourne City Council removed Fantauzzo's painting of a lane's road surface in warped black and white chequered squares in 2017 because of safety concerns.[7] Art critic for The Australian, Christopher Allen, wrote that Fantauzzo's photorealistic style is to painting what lip-syncing is to singing.[3] Allen described the portrait of Keddie in 2013 as "an elaborate oil rendition of a photograph that trivialises the art of painting and that of photography, as well as apparently contravening the rules of the exhibition." (Archibald submissions must be produced from life.)[8]
Selected works
[edit]- 2008 Heath – (Heath Ledger) Archibald People's Choice[2]
- 2009 Brandon – (Brandon Walters) Archibald People's Choice[4]
- 2011 Matt Moran – Archibald Packing Room Prize[9][10]
- 2011 Baz Luhrmann "Off Screen" – Doug Moran National Portrait Prize[11]
- 2013 Love Face – (Asher Keddie) Archibald People's Choice[12]
- 2014 All that's good in me – (self-portrait as son Luca) Archibald People's Choice[13]
- 2021 Muse – (Asher Keddie) Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (joint winner)[14]
Fantauzzo published his memoir, Unveiled, in 2025.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Fantauzzo has a son with his first wife, Michelle.[16]
Fantauzzo met actor Asher Keddie in 2012 after both had separated from their spouses. His 2012 portrait of Keddie won the People's Choice Award at the 2013 Archibald Prize. They married in April 2014[17] and Keddie bore a son the following year.[18][19]
References
[edit]- ^ "Who is Vincent Fantauzzo?", The Australian Women's Weekly, 3 March 2025
- ^ a b c d "Archibald Prize 08 – Vincent Fantauzzo wins the People's Choice", Art Gallery of New South Wales
- ^ a b "Portrait of modern mediocrity" by Christopher Allen, The Australian, 4 May 2011
- ^ a b "Archibald Prize 09 – Vincent Fantauzzo wins the People's Choice", Art Gallery of New South Wales
- ^ "Gillard delighted with her portrait artist". SBS News. AAP. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^
- ^ "Vincent Fantauzzo's Melbourne laneway art removed by council" by Loretta Florance, ABC News (Australia), 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Portraiture that looks like a snap to paint in Archibald Prize" by Christopher Allen, The Australian, 14 March 2013
- ^ Winner: Packing Room Prize 2011, Art Gallery of New South Wales
- ^ Photo of Fantauzzo and Moran with the portrait, 8 April 2011, news.com.au
- ^ 2011 National Portrait Prize Winner, www.moranprizes.com.au
- ^ Winner: People's Choice 2013, Art Gallery of New South Wales
- ^ Winner: People's Choice 2014, Art Gallery of New South Wales
- ^ Harmon, Steph (5 December 2021). "Doug Moran prize 2021: judges pick three $100,000 winners in unprecedented decision – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^
- Vincent Fantauzzo (2025). Unveiled. Penguin. ISBN 9781761348341.
- "Unveiled, Vincent Fantauzzo" (publisher's announcement). Penguin. March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
- ^ "Asher's brush with love again". Herald Sun. Melbourne. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ^ "Asher Keddie marries Vincent Fantauzzo in Fiji". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "Asher Keddie and Vincent Fantauzzo welcome first child". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "Asher Keddie opens up on her baby son Valentino", Who via news.com.au, 25 March 2015
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Sue Smethurst (26 March 2019) [23 March 2019]. "Escape artist: Vincent Fantauzzo, from high school dropout to celebrated painter". Weekend Australian Magazine.
