Work
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Tony Fitzpatrick | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Known for | Collage, Drawing, Painting, Poetry |
| Movement | Chicago Imagist |
| Website | tonyfitzpatrick |
Tony Fitzpatrick (born 1958) is an American mixed media collage artist and poet that draws on inspiration from his life in the Greater Chicago area. Fitzpatrick has published eight books of his art and poetry in addition to having work exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, [1] Museum of Modern Art, [2] The Art Institute of Chicago, [3] Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. [4]
Fitzpatrick draws inspirations from many different sources including, slices and snippets of midwestern city life, tattoo designs, children's books, folk art and Fitzpatrick's fascination with native Illinois birds. His work tends to be visually busy, colorful, highly detailed, and plays with the symbolic, narrative, and abstract. Fitzpatrick combines drawings and original paintings with collage and poetry, where his images becoming narrative storytelling, and his writing becomes visual commentary.
Tony Fitzpatrick was raised in Lombard Illinois. The son of a WWII veteran and burial vault salesman, Fitzpatrick grew up enmeshed in the working class Catholic culture of the Chicago suburbs. In an interview with Chicago Magazine, Fitzpatrick speaks fondly of his father, who he said was a strict disciplinarian with a great sense of humor. [5]
As a child, Fitzpatrick had a reputation as a trouble maker at his strict Catholic school and was routinely suspended for his bad behavior. On the days Fitzpatrick was suspended he would accompany his father on business trips and listen to stories about life in Chicago. During his youth, Fitzpatrick also developed an interest in birds. He recalls his grandmother saying: “For the price of a piece of bread you can hear God sing.” [6]
At Montini Catholic High School Fitzpatrick said that he flunked art and barely passed his other classes. In high school, Fitzpatrick boxed more than he drew, and after high school he fell into a succession of temporary jobs including bouncer, cab driver, caddy, trucker, and day laborer. [7] On his own website, Fitzpatrick also additionally lists that he was a radio host, bartender, boxer, construction worker, and film and stage actor.
Fitzpatrick is open about his historical struggles with alcohol and drugs. This dependency would occasionally get so severe it would interfere with his life and work. [7] As of 2024, Fitzpatrick has said that he hasn't had a drink in 33 years. [5]
Fitzpatrick said in a 2024 interview, "I make an embarrassing amount of money for a democratic socialist, but if you subscribe to a kind of elitism, that Ayn Randian fucking notion, it erodes your humanity." [5]
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