Anthony Newton - Fountain Gallery Artist "A signature of Anthony’s work is bold color, and oil is the primary medium he employs in creating his powerful and distinctive portraits. He studied at the Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia and also studied illustration at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). He has had one-man shows at Jadite Gallery, Cuchifritos of the Lower East Side, and Chashama, and he has exhibited at the Deshong Museum of Art in Chester, PA, the Art Culture Center in Brooklyn, and in NYU's 2008 Small Works show. He was a featured artist in a private exhibition at the LandAir Gallery in New York City, and Fountain Gallery presented his work in the two-person show Urban Faces and in the three-person show Body Language. Anthony’s work was included in an exhibition at the Education and Research Center of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). My art is a personal vision of vibrant color that seeks to capture and uplift the essence of inner city America. My work emerges from an autobiographical vantage point - drawing on personal experience and the broader hip hop culture that I am part of. Having formal training at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, I have grounding in realist life drawing, but I infuse this tradition with other influences, such as graffiti, street art, and the commercial imagery found in popular music magazine and CD covers. I sometimes work directly from photo references, but often I filter these varied influences through my own imagination. I am interested in using the physicality of paint - its color and texture - to explore unseen inner worlds, as well as to confront and challenge racial stereotypes. I see a canvas as a space where I can translate my own personal experiences and struggles into stories that can address larger, systemic issues that affect us all."
