2021 NEFAE

Garrett Vitanza 

Senior Instructor

Garrett first attended the Academy of Realist Art when he was sixteen, participating in The “Old Master Workshop” instructed by Fernando Freitas. Garrett grasped the basic skills of oil painting covered in the workshop and executed a self-portrait which subsequently won first place in the National Congressional Art Competition in 2004. After graduating High School he moved to Toronto and studied for 3 years at the Academy of Realist Art. Since completing the program he has worked on several commissioned projects including murals. Garrett is currently working on a body of work that focuses on the figure and its relation to narrative and is continuing his education, pursuing a BFA at The School of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. You can view Garrett’s work here or follow him on Instagram.   

John Asimacopoulos

Anatomy Instructor

Although born in Houston, Texas, John Asimacopoulos spent most of his childhood and formative years, outside the USA, in Greece and the United Kingdom. From a young age, he displayed an affinity to art; however, he initially decided to follow the family tradition of a career in the medical sciences. In 2010, he began his undergraduate studies for a BSc degree in BioMedical Sciences at King’s College London, UK, followed by graduate school studies, for his MSc in Global Health and Development at University College London. During his studies in London, John rekindled his relationship with art. Realizing that he would be happiest pursuing a career path in Art, not the Medical Sciences, John declined a firm offer of admission to the School of Dentistry at King’s College London. Returning in 2015 to the USA, John enrolled as a full-time student at The Academy Of Realist Art Boston. Presently, he teaches, part-time, as an Instructor for Figure Drawing and for Anatomy. 

John has made extensive use of his knowledge of Clinical Anatomy and Dissection in his teaching, molding it into an Artistic Anatomy course for students. Anatomy has enhanced John’s deep appreciation for the human form, which he is currently exploring in his personal work, through a series of narrative figure paintings. You can view John’s work here. 

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