February 1, 2026 - A brief history of me

I grew up and was schooled in Colorado, which really inspired my love of nature. My father was a bit of a tree nut, and as a result, I probably planted 100 trees before I was 23. I went to the University of Denver and graduated with a BFA in design. I’ve always liked the conceptual side of art, and solving creative problems, which led me to start my professional journey in advertising and design, first as an intern at T&P ad agency in college, then as an Art Director and Associate Creative Director at the Integer Group, shaping and defining my aesthetic, social beliefs, and visual story-telling. 

During my time at Integer, I never stopped creating art. My artwork evolved naturally and organically to mixed media from my love of wood and reclaimed wood, as my canvas, in addition to my early love of photography, bold functional design and typography. In my design background, I was always experimenting with materials, and being subjected to many tools and techniques that gave me a lack of fear in mixing these elements together. So today my work employs custom built repurposed wood canvases, acrylic paint, occasionally ink or paper, with digital and heat transfer and laser etching and cutting as well. Where has this process lead me? I suppose after I realized the distaste I had for some of the commercialism of advertising and over consumption, it led me down the path of full-time artist and repurpose evangelist. I started to create urban pop-up galleries in unfinished spaces in the late 2000s to showcase and emphasize the environmental and social message of my work. That’s when I learned to just go and do it, not to wait for someone else to tell me how. I put on 5 or 6 shows from Aspen to Denver. This early exposure gave way to participating in some more established and curated group shows, which evolved my work towards installation and sculptural art. I met and got married to my amazing wife Dr. Bridget Matarazzo, who is a psychologist, and had two amazing children, Autumn and Emory, and left the ad business behind for full-time artist and dad duties.

A large part of my growth and journey into the greater art community was joining and helping establish ZEEL art collective & gallery on social issues. The process, friendships, mentoring and introduction to the larger art community was awesome and instrumental. It stoked the passion for creating and curating for amazing Denver artists around a central social theme, starting conversation and bringing art to community. These experiences were foundational in the development of the BRDG Project, the community-focused art gallery co-founded by myself and Michael Dowling. 

My passion for community and philanthropy really stems from my parents. My mother, Vicky Matarazzo, dedicated her life to volunteerism, coaching Special Olympics for 20 years, and my father, Dr. Joseph Matarazzo, has been a family doctor generally treating underserved community members for 45 years. They taught me that giving and helping others was what true humanity was about. Outside of my work, I try to honor my mother’s legacy by serving community in as many ways i can. advocating for the arts, serving on different nonprofit or community boards, and along with my family supporting Special Olympics through fundraising and whatever ways we can. 

I suppose what it taught me is early on in life you think you need to make a massive impact with thousands of people, but really in the end, you realize that as long as you make as big of an impact as you can in your own community, in what ways you can, that is all that matters. So, I am striving to do that personally and professionally through my art, BRDG Project, and other Art, social and environmental Advocating.