A Lifetime of Painting Brings New Connections at Smith Houses

At Smith Houses on the Lower East Side, artist Peter Passuntino can usually be found doing what he has loved doing for most of his life: painting.  

“I paint every day,” Mr. Passuntino said. “My friends call me a Sunday painter, because I paint on Sundays, too.” 

Mr. Passuntino, who moved to Smith Houses two years ago, starts painting early in the morning and often works for 12 hours a day, moving between two canvases so he can keep working while one of them is drying. Until recently, Mr. Passuntino used his bedroom as both a studio and storage space, filling it with nearly 60 paintings. 

Now, thanks to a partnership between Art on the Ave NYC and NYCHA, Mr. Passuntino is one of three artists participating in a residency at a vacant Smith Houses storefront that has been transformed into an artist studio, gallery, and community workshop space. 

“Painting is magic,” Mr. Passuntino said. “There are so many things that have happened to me because of painting. I didn’t know a soul when I came to this neighborhood, and now I’m meeting all these different people because of painting.”  

One of those people is Barbara Anderson, co-founder of Art on the Ave NYC. Last summer, the organization partnered with NYCHA to create a sidewalk gallery at the Smith Houses storefronts. Mr. Passuntino was one of 22 artists featured in the exhibition, Here, Now, Always: Everybody’s Neighborhood.  

Originally from Chicago, Mr. Passuntino discovered his artistic talent at a young age – when he was 10, a teacher recognized his ability and encouraged him to develop it. By 15, he had earned a scholarship to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which he attended in the 1950s. 

Mr. Passuntino’s career would eventually take him around the world. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship and two Fulbright grants, which allowed him to study and exhibit in Paris. In Paris, he studied at Institut d’Art et d’Archéologie and Sir William Hayter’s Atelier 17 from 1963 through 1965. Over the years, he has exhibited his surrealist art extensively, including 20 exhibitions in New York City, and his work has appeared in galleries and collections internationally. 

He was not only active in painting but also helped support other artists. In the 1960s, he was a major part of the SoHo arts scene. During the 1970s, Mr. Passuntino co-founded Rhino Horn, a figurative expressionist artist group that challenged trends in contemporary art and promoted political and social commentary through art. His own paintings remain bold, expressive, and inspired by current events and everyday life.  

“My work is a little political, a little provocative,” Mr. Passuntino said. “Sometimes my dark side comes out. 

“I was on a panel about my art and an audience member asked, ‘Your paintings are so crazy, what are you on?’ I told him I don’t even smoke cigarettes, but I do have a circus in my head.” 

Almost 80 years since his teacher eyed his painting talent, Mr. Passuntino is happy to still be doing what he loves and to now be part of a growing art community at Smith Houses. 

“I was just a kid from Chicago,” he said. “All I knew how to do was sketch and paint. But because of painting, I got to travel to Paris, Rome, and Florence. Painting led me to Barbara [of Art on the Ave NYC], and I get to work here from this studio because of it.”