Oliver Fontany.
Oliver Fontany is a neurodiverse artist living and working in Sydney, Australia.
Fontany has developed his artistic skills through pen and ink, and has expanded his artistic repertoire to include paintings, collage, and installation.
Fontany works with a linear style, using a pen, his heavy hand will carve bold expressive lines into his paintings and drawings. In conjunction, Fontany’s work typically focuses on expansive landscapes and deeply profound autobiographical paintings.
A stark contrast to his rigid line-work is his free-flowing application of colour to his art. Fontany typically chooses colours that have a stronger vibrancy which offsets the darker tones of his line-work. Fontany uses many methods to support his artist practice, including the use of photographic images as a reference for his artmaking.
Fontany's inspirations are drawn from a myriad of sources including the importance of family and friends within his life, to specific moments of joy and significance in his day to day, such as the ritual surrounding the watching of favourite television shows, or the sights, sounds and smells that make certain views, walks or places memorable for the artist.
Fontany has exhibited in numerous group shows and prizes throughout NSW, and his works are held in private collections across Australia.
Additionally, in 2021, Fontany was the winner of the Macability Award through Fisher’s Ghost Art Prize, the People’s Choice Award through the Calleen Art Award, and placed first in the Connect, Collaborate, Celebrate exhibition hosted by Willoughby Council.
Collaborations to date.
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Oliver Fontany x Luke Abdallah 1.
This piece was one of the duos first experimentations with collaboration, and aimed to determine the best ways to both accommodate and accentuate each artists’ unique and extremely bold styles. Luke completed the base layer, a combination of green, yellow, black and red, using a myriad of application tools, including brushes and natural materials. Oliver then overlayed shapes in green, utilising his regular complete coverage of a work, whilst employing thinner line work. This overlay provides a unique perspective to view the under layers, whilst evoking a new, busy and engaging feel to the work.
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Oliver Fontany x Luke Abdallah 2. (The Vortex), acrylic on wooden board, 124 x 93cm
This collaborative painting between two great artists, Luke Abdallah and Oliver Fontany, received much warm praise at the opening of Oliver’s first solo exhibition.
The two distinctive styles work so well with each other. Luke’s fluidity, his long, loose, white, cane lines in tandem with Oliver’s blocky, sharp, condensed letters and numbers create a beautiful and unexpected harmony.
(The Vortex has previously exhibited as part of the Open Field Festival, Berry School of Arts, 2023).
