“Antony Zito took an old flowered cabinet door and transformed it into a cool, realistic portrait of myself that I felt compelled to buy on the spot. (I don’t even like looking at myself either) Did I mention he did it in about 7 minutes? Because there is no way I could sit any longer. The best quick portrait painter in the business, with an amazing artistic flair. This guy is amazing.” –
“Zito can capture your essence by painting on a found object for 20 minutes more effectively than more formal and pretentious artists can do by fussing on a canvas for weeks. A genius!” –
“Zito is one of my very favorite New York artists, partly because he thinks of himself as an artisan (he likes to make paintings on commission) and partly because he’s just a really fine and inventive painter. I have two of his paintings, one is a portrait of Lee Marvin (commissioned for my film COFFEE AND CIGARETTES) and one of the Ethiopian master musician Mulatu Astatke (commissioned for my film BROKEN FLOWERS). I value them greatly. I hope for a few more in the future. Hats off to Zito!” –
Antony Zito is known in New York as the portrait painter of the Lower East Side. To New Yorkers, his portraits are instantly recognizable and scribe a historic line through this storied neighborhood. The New York Post refers to his paintings as “sensual” and his work on recycled materials has prompted The Village Voice to call him “a master of the found object”. His work is exhibited and collected in the US, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Japan. Zito has toured Europe with Art Battles, creating live art performances on a large scale. Some of his portraits can be seen in Jim Jarmusch’s films, “Coffee and Cigarettes” and “Broken Flowers”.
