Charles Fazzino 

Crossing Houston Street

1989

N/A

Color Print

Gift

Charles Fazzino’s Crossing Houston Street is a depiction of New York City’s famous Houston Street. Houston Street, pronounced how-ston, runs from east to west in downtown Manhattan. Fazzino, born in New York City, is well-known for his 3-D Pop Art style of work, often painting cityscapes and sports arenas. As a New Yorker himself, Fazzino had insight into the diverse immigrant populations that resided within the Lower East Side throughout the 1980’s. This diversity is reflected in the piece as Fazzino illustrated a variety of different restaurants representing the different ethnic groups who lived in the area. Portrayed in the painting are “Casa Latino,” “Middle Eastern Falafel,” “Pizza” and “Indian Cuisine.” Fazzino too, depicts an iconic Jewish Delicatessen, Katz’s, located on East Houston and Ludlow. Katz’s has been an NYC staple since 1888. In the forefront there are a variety of people and other New York City icons such as hotdog stands and yellow taxis.

Fazzino covers the canvas with different buildings and other New York icons such as the Statue of Liberty, Little Italy and the Twin Towers. The bright colors and crammed canvas capture the chaos of New York City.

Still today when crossing Houston Street, you are reminded of the diversity that makes New York the city that it is. 

Wall Label written by Pola Mora, currently enrolled in Baruch’s MA program in Arts Administration