Jade Matarazzo

Grandniece of noted Brazilian industrialist and arts patron Ciccillo Matarazzo, Jade Matarazzo grew up surrounded by the art and artists that came to Brazil from all over the world for the São Paulo Art Biennial. This early exposure to the works of Manabu Mabe, Tarsila do Amaral, Carybé, René Magritte, Candido Portinari, Picasso, and others would eventually lead her to her life's work.[2]

She discovered a love for photography while attending an all-girls school in Switzerland. Matarazzo instantly fell in love with the camera and the stories she could tell through it. Pursuing an arts education, she attended the Escola Panamericana de Arte in her native Brazil and continued her studies at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale after moving to the United States in 1992.[3]

In 2016, Matarazzo enrolled to further her education at Sotheby's Institute of Art to study art as a global business, curating and art history.[4]

Matarazzo began exhibiting her work in 2002 at group shows at the Museum of the Americas in Florida as well as some galleries in Europe. Her first big solo exhibition, "Boundaries" at the Solange Rabello gallery in Miami in 2005, consisted of 40 photographs. She sold almost all the work and marks this show as her transition from student to professional photographer.[5]

In 2013 Matarazzo joined with other artists for a special project documenting the Japanese culture in her native Brazil. Japanese Brazilians are the largest Japanese descendant community outside of Japan. Matarazzo worked alongside photographer Kazuo Okubo, sculptor Yutaka Toyota, and mixed media painter Catarina Gushiken as part of the "West Encounters East" project. Matarazzo used her time there to capture the faces of the 2013 Tanabata or "Star Festival" held in the Liberdade district of São Paulo. In 2015, her "Views of Tanabata" exhibit appeared at the Morikami Museum in Palm Beach County and in Tokyo.[6]

Matarazzo recently celebrated the first ten years of her career with an exhibit called "Ever Changing Perspectives" in her home town of São Paulo, as well as New York and Miami.[7]

In 2010 Just as her mentor Ciccillo Matarazzo had done 61 years before with international artists in Brazil, Jade Matarazzo founded  Brazilian Art Exhibitions to bring international attention to emerging Brazilian artists in the United States. As curator and director her initial goal was to provide a cultural and commercial platform for showcasing new talent.[14]

The Exhibitions became  month-long events featuring venues in both Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. More than  500 Brazilian artists have taken part over the years representing a variety of mediums from photography and painting to sculpture and ceramics,[15] and more than 3000 local K-12 students took part in touring the exhibits, attending workshops and interacting directly with the artists.[16]

Matarazzo partners with FocusBrazil on annual international "ExpoArt" showcases in Miami, London, and Tokyo. These events provide Brazilian artists the opportunity to share their work and garner new cultural experiences.[17]

• Jade Matarazzo Website
• The House of Arts
• Colecta Magazine