Raphael Mazzucco

"Closing In" archival print, oil paint and mixed media encased in resin

2013

Raphael Mazzucco (b. 1965) is a Candian-born contemporary artist and renowned fashion, music, and celebrity photographer. He creates multi-media works that layer paint, collage, and hand-lettered text, bringing together geography, nature, and human emotion. His large-scale works begin with archival prints that he covers in acrylic paint, ink, natural pigments, herbs, spices, plants, and ephemera sourced from all over the world, encasing them in three to four layers of polyurethane resin throughout the process. Mazzucco borrows from his global travels to find inspiration in his studio, starting with his exquisite portraits of beautiful women and photographs of diverse landscapes that span Icelandic glaciers, African wildlife, the Western Australia outback, and Vietnamese rice paddies. Inspired by the pursuit of solitude and natural beauty, Mazzucco seeks out new places away from tourist centers in search of raw and organic landscapes, collecting supplies in a large hockey gear bag. The original photographs often become obscured by the layering and marriage of bold and earth tone colors. Inspired by Robert Rauschenberg’s enthusiasm for found materials, Mazzucco developed a passion for collage and mixed media work. Many of his wall pieces are three-dimensional, incorporating a variety of found materials from guitars to butterflies, leaves, found wood, shark teeth, and other raw and natural elements. Mazzucco began working for Calvin Klein and as a music photographer, before moving to Milan, Italy, for three years and shifting his focus primarily on fashion. Mazzucco’s dazzling close-up photographs have appeared on the cover of three Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues; the book Sports Illustrated: Exposure (2006); A Second Decade of Guess Images: 1991-2001; as well as a Victoria’s Secret’s coffee table book. Mazzucco’s collaborations include partnering with country superstar Keith Urban on a line of T-shirts for the social impact project, publishing a book for the CULO art, fashion, and pop culture movement with Sean “Diddy” Combs and Interscope Geffen A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine, and appearing in 2011 as himself in an episode of HBO comedy-drama Entourage. After 25 years of shooting celebrities and models for global brands, publications, and campaigns including Victoria’s Secret, GUESS, Ralph Lauren, and Bergdorf Goodman, Mazzucco transitioned to fine art, gaining immediate praise from the art world, including an endorsement from Damien Hirst who bought one of his entire exhibitions on the opening night. Mazzucco’s work is in the private collections of Tommy Hilfiger, Rhianna, Damien Hirst, Jimmy Iovine, Peter Beard, and Sean “Diddy” Combs, and has been shown in 40 exhibitions in the United States, England, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he moved to New York City in the 1990s, and then to Montauk, New York, before settling in rural Lebanon, Connecticut, three years ago with his wife Lisa, son Sascha, and daughter-in-law Celine.