Brett Matarazzo, is a contemporary repurpose artist, working in mixed media photo-surrealism.  Raised in Colorado, which imbedded and inspired his love of nature, he graduated from the University of Denver with a BFA in design. He has spent his career developing a style for contemporary art and design that is uniquely repurposed, and environmentally and socially conscious. Brett’s professional journey started in advertising/design, defining his aesthetic and visual storytelling. His work evolved organically to mixed media from a love of narrative photography, functional design, and a fundamental practice of reuse of natural materials as medium.

In the late 2000s, he created urban pop up galleries in unfinished spaces to showcase and emphasize the environmental and social message of his work. That visibility led to participating in collective and commercial gallery solo and group shows, while evolving his work towards installation, and sculpture, with private and public installations in the state.

Brett has conviction for the importance of art in the community and became an establishing member of ZEEL collective gallery on social issues in 2017, and is now the passionate Co-Founder and Executive Director of BRDG Project Nonprofit Organization and Gallery. He believes steadfastly in the mission to bring local, artist-driven and thought-provoking arts back to the heart of Denver’s shifting neighborhoods, building community through art, and supporting Denver and its artists in whatever way he can.

He continues in his home studio to evolve and experiment with mixed media: paint, ink, paper, transfer, and laser etching on reclaimed wood to make sculptural, conceptual, and socially challenging work.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I have an obsessive passion for the discarded, repurposed into something new and beautiful. A conviction for how we perceive and coexist with our natural and man-made environment.  My work is an exploration and commentary on the human condition, growth, consumption, and the environmental impact from it.

The struggle with man overtaking nature, and nature’s response: A social, personal, and emotional journey, between humanity, industrialism, and the natural world.