Matthew Mazzotta

Matthew Mazzotta grew up in rural Northern New York where he melted candles with a blowtorch onto street curbs, old loading docks, and handrails to convert them into skateboarding surfaces. He and a collection of skateboarders from nearby towns would share knowledge of different local spots they have created and spent their days outside.

He now works at the intersection of art, activism, and urbanism, focusing on the power of the built environment to shape our relationships and experiences. His public art projects have received international art and architecture awards such as the Architizer A+ Award, Azure’s AZ Award, CODAawards, WAN Award, Americans for the Arts, and “Architecture Project of the Year” by the Dezeen Awards at the Tate Modern in London. His work has been featured on CNN, BBC, NPR, The Colbert Report, The Huffington Post, and Discovery Channel, and published in numerous books, journals, and magazines including Science Magazine, Wired Magazine, and Interior Design Magazine. He has exhibited his work at the Cooper Hewitt-Smithsonian Design Museum in NYC, and presented at the Asia Society NYC conference in partnership with UNESCO and the United Nations 75th Anniversary conference moderated by Rem Koolhaas.