John G Fantucchio Biography page

 

Official Biography

John G. Fantucchio is a native of Massachusetts. He is a graduate of the Art Instruction Schools of Minneapolis, the Cartoonist ExchangeSchool of Ohio, and the School of Practical Art of Boston. He has a BFA from the Art Institute of Boston, and an MFA from Syracuse University. He has also studied privately with Ben Stahl in Mexico, with Roy Ray in England, Daniel Green, and at the Art Students League in New York with Gustav Rehberger, Mario Cooper, and Harvey Dinnerstein. He has lived in Arlington Virginia since 1964. The artist has exhibited in Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Washington DC, England and Virginia, and has participated in group shows at the Central Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon, the National Institute of Health, The Civil Service Commission, Strathmore Hall and the Smithsonian Institution. His artwork has appeared in local, national and international publications.

The artist has received numerous honors for his paintings, drawings, illustrations, cartoons and designs. These include a $2,500 cash award from the Franklin Mint and awards from the Society of Federal Artists and Designers, the Illustrators Club of Washington, the Art Directors Club of Washington, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. He has also won acclaim at local exhibitions.

For more than 25 years, Fantucchio created classified works of art for the Central Intelligence Agency, where he received numerous honors and commendations and was called 'the artist in residence.' For more than a decade he served on the CIA's Fine Arts Committee.

In 1973, the Fantucchio School of Art was established, with limited enrollment to ensure personalized instruction in drawing and painting for the beginner to advanced student. John G. Fantucchio is noted for his versatility and his striving to create works of art that are beyond the ordinary. He is constantly exploring new horizons and challenging himself. Thus, his work is executed in various media - oil, acrylic, watercolor, casein, gouache, pastel, ink, pencil, wood and steel. The paintings are on a variety of surfaces - from the traditional stretched canvas to weathered wood panels to assemblage using wood, steel, fabric and polymer emulsion. From his studio/gallery, he has created custom art from logo designs portraits, paintings, murals and assemblages in the tradition of the Renaissance era, producing masterpieces expressly for the client. His style is varied according to the mood of the subject: it may consist of two dimensional interpenetrating planes, three dimensional abstracts or be in the realm of realistically rendered creation. Fantucchio's sensitive but distinctive works are in numerous private collections - residential, commercial, federal and overseas. He has been called a one-man school of artistic exploration.

Editor's Note: The bio above was written by JGF himself, probably in the early 2000's and was attached to the back of artwork that he displayed or sold at exhibitions and art shows he participated in.