BIO / ARTIST INFORMATION
| | Leann Marie Zafuto, (b. 1969), is a mainly self-taught artist who’s modern mixed media works of acrylic, oil, resin and photography evoke imagery from the inner city and high fashion for an abstract-pop feel. She began painting at age five and concentrated in art throughout high school, college and beyond with continuing course work at Atlanta College of Art/SCAD in Atlanta, GA. Her B.A. is in Public Communications & Broadcasting (with design concentration), from SUNY Buffalo, NY. and continued course work in New York.
Since 2001, Leann has participated in many gallery shows and exhibitions throughout Atlanta, New York City, Miami, Naples and San Diego. She has been featured in solo exhibits and several group shows in area galleries and also displayed and sold work for Starbucks, Swiss Hotel, BoConcepts and many corporate and alternative spaces and fine restaurants. One of her larger projects included curating in various Tishman Speyer buildings in Midtown Atlanta featuring the work of upcoming Georgia artists. Plans include gallery shows and working art project initiatives in New York, Long Island City and Brooklyn, NY. Such feature groups include Free Arts NYC, RxArt, Exit Art based in New York City, Long Island City and various art organizations in San Diego, CA.
Leann’s paintings assemble forms that are built up and then diminished, leaving plenty of possibility for the viewer’s own experience and story line. Her juxtaposition of imagery from pop culture is inspired by new American painters, mixed media artists and legends including Marilyn Minter, Sprouse, Warhol, Rauschenberg and de Kooning and even Bacon to start, along with many accomplished and upcoming artists. Her series of previous, on-going works include ”Floral Forward” and “City Mix” which found photos and personal photography are the underlying identity. A wide range of mediums, color and personal vision has enabled her to transcend this look into all of her latest creations. Her work possesses a range of styles, yet always true to her unique blend of mixing abstract, fine and pop art to create a recognizable look of hers alone.
2008 & ’09 brought about her new series, directly inspired from the fashion world entitled “Changing The Art Of Fashion” which combines her love of art and fashion. “ I try to portray a “fine art” painted version and extensions of my favorite clothing and couture lines by Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Marni, Prada, YSL, DVF, Lanvin and Balenciaga. These photos of elaborate gowns and dresses are distorted, painted over and under with additions of oil stick, various paints and even more mixed media, finished off in a high gloss resin for maximum effects. My love of fine art, pop art, city and fashion all blend together to provide the viewer something modern and interesting to grasp at each look.” This series is an on-going body of work with many “spins off’s” in, and of fashion, all with unique twists….stay tuned!
Another exciting project in the works entitled "Extreme Fashion Window Design In NYC" features photography of the most extreme fashion windows of NYC. Not just descent windows, but the most "extreme fashion" that literally stop traffic each day. An upcoming, dedicated website (as well as this site and Flickr), will feature an summary of the best pics taken from the likes of Bergdorf's, Juicy, Kate Spade and Anthropologie to Screaming Mimi's on the L.E.S. A book is also in the works featuring the best of the best.
Street Art has always been an obsession to Leann and is now becoming more prominent in her art work and photo-documentation projects. You can see the influence in recent works and current photographs and paintings . "I enjoy learning about the street art masters from the beginning (in the 70's, The Death Squad, NYC) to the recent likes of Banksy, MBW, Sephyr, Zevs and Swoon to name a few."
In 2010 expect to see more fashion, more street art, more floral mixed with fashion and street art, more extreme windows and more...everything!
Leann lives and works in New York City and San Diego, CA.
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