Biophilia by Raphael Mazzucco

RAPHAEL MAZZUCCO

RAPHAEL MAZZUCCO

“I have never been frightened of changes, or destroying the image. I feel the painting has a life of its own.”

– Raphael Mazzucco

[FOREWORD]

Biophilia Pronunciation: [bahy-oh-fil-ee-uh, -feel-yuh] Definition: An innate love of life and affinity with the living world.

Raphael Mazzucco is irrefutably a lover of life. His passion for synchronicity between his subjects and settings, coupled with an epicurean aesthetic, has resulted in arguably some of the most relevant photography today, taking the world of fine art by storm. Mazzucco’s work heralds a new age of art. Biophilia acknowledges his zeal, and references his instinctive kinship with all living matter.

From fellow man, to his relationship with habitats and the natural world, his affinity knows no bounds. Nowhere is this more clearly demonstrated than Biophilia.

This collection is based upon, relies on and draws from connections. The connection between life, our lives, and the life forces around us. The connections made when we step barefoot on earth, submerge our face in water or rest the length of our bodies against a towering tree; these connections transcend taxonomy and unite us through acknowledging our commonality of energy and vitality.

As the alchemists, sorcerers and astrologers of bygone years knew, to be truly powerful one had to harness the power of the natural world; thus Mazzucco has formed an alliance with nature in this body of work to coax full elemental beauty through his lens. No detail, no element or biome is deemed irrelevant or unworthy of notice. Their very existence dictates that they contribute in some way to the ecosystems and partnerships celebrated in Biophilia.

Mazzucco’s mastery of staging allows the viewer to live and breathe the moments captured by his photography.

Hinting at a canopy of trees, laden with air so heavy and so humid, allows his female subjects to exude not only their God-given beauty, but a sensual and languorous heat

that, without the climatic context, would feel staged and inauthentic. As an artist, Mazzucco addresses his audience and asserts that the gentle flurry of a butterfly’s wings, and the seductive flutter of a woman’s eyelashes, hold equal gravitas in his compositions.

To be in the presence of this collection of work is to walk the equator, taking in every vantage, experiencing every sensation, greeting every living being and absorbing every detail. His female subjects are your signposts, directing you between savannahs, prairies, deltas, grasslands and rainforests, demanding your attention and commanding that your focus falls not only on them, but on the waterfalls, woodlands and water lilies that share their spotlight. An observer will see Mazzucco working within the framework of finessed photography, with the applied expression of painting, to influence the sensation of movement throughout this collection. One has the distinct impression that he is leading us to recognise that the breeze causing his subjects’ hair to billow so pleasingly in some pieces, also gifts us the endemic ripples in sand dunes, the gentle swell of waves on shorelines; elements so unassumingly mesmerising one might overlook them in the pursuit of “beauty”.

Mazzucco does not ask us to choose between the appeal of nature versus socially imposed standards of attractiveness, rather he would like us to recognise that both have a part to play, and neither reach their true potential without the other. Drawing on the theory of holism, which presents the idea that natural systems should be viewed as as a whole rather than individual elements, this body of work is an unadulterated celebration of splendour.

KATE 2 Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

BEYOND Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

PIANO GIRL 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 74½” x 49½”

MEXICO 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 74½” x 49½”

PARADOX 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin.

Image Size 61½” x 41½”

WHY NOT 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 25” x 38”

ADRIANA TRIPTYCH 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 40½” x 61½”

BIG REED POND Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

LIFE 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

RED TREE Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

FLOWER Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 45½” x 61½”

ICELAND Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

SIMONE 5 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

REFLECTIONS Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 37½” x 57½”

HOLD MY HAND Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

KEEP ALIVE Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

KATE 3 Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

BALLERINA 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

SAND 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

ITALY 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 25½” x 37½”

DREAM 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

COME TO ME Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 25” x 38”

SILENCE 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 52” x 36½”

MIRROR EFFECT Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 38” x 25”

WATER 4 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 25½” x 32½”

VII Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

PARADOX 3 Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

WATER 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 33½” x 49½”

SIMONE 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

SIMONE 4 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

SIMONE 3 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

SIMONE 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

JUST LIKE A WOMAN Acrylic paint, Official Bob Dylan manuscript, found objects, encased in resin Image Size 48” x 96”

A PIECE OF ME Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

DREAMS IN THE AMAZON Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

SMOKE AND MIRRORS Acrylic Paint, found objects, archival prints, encased in resin Image Size 48” x 96”

(middle right)

(bottom right)

MY ROOM

Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

SLEEP WITH ME (left)

TWO CUPS OF COFFEE

Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

COMPLEXITY (top right)

Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

JAWS Acrylic Paint, found objects, encased in resin Image Size 48” x 96”

SURROUNDED Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

SAND FEVER Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

MADAGASCAR 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 40” x 63”

BALLERINA 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

IF I WAS A CHILD Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

CLOUDS ARE FOREVER Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

BONES Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

CAT 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 37½” x 25½”

FATE Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 49½” x 41½”

ADRIANA 1 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 49½” x 41½”

DREAM 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 37” x 55”

WILDFLOWER Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

VIETNAM 5 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

WINTER IN MONTAUK Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 53½” x 46½”

INTO MY WORLD Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

MEXICO 2 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 52½” x 41½”

PAINT Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

THUNDER Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

PORTRAIT Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 61½” x 41½”

CLOUDS Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 60” x 47”

FIRE AND RAIN Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

BEAUTY 3 Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 58¾” x 45½”

CAN I SEE Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 31½”

LIGHTNING Archival print on canvas, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 31½” x 41½”

VIETNAM 3

(top)

Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

(bottom)

VIETNAM 4

Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

VIETNAM 2

(top)

Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

(bottom)

VIETNAM 1

Archival print, mixed media, encased in resin Image Size 41½” x 61½”

“There is of course another language that is within the painting that one should always dream of... it can say anything one feels” – Raphael Mazzucco

[BIOGRAPHY]

Raphael Mazzucco is one of the world’s most influential and talented fashion photographers and contemporary artists, critically acclaimed for his singular eye and his captivating aesthetic. After years spent honing his craft in Italy, France and Amsterdam, his arrival in New York City garnered attention from some of fashion’s elite, creating iconic imagery for the likes of Victoria’s Secret, Guess Jeans, L’Oreal, Ralph Lauren and Bergdorf Goodman. His imagery has appeared in L’Official, French and Italian Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue, Marie Claire, Playboy, and Vanity Fair, featuring not only his editorial fashion imagery but celebrity portraiture of notable actors including Benicio Del Toro, Matt Damon, Susan Sarandon, and Elizabeth Banks.

His artistic visual narrative captures the human form set against a backdrop of startling landscapes spanning the continents, from Icelandic glaciers to African wildlife, the outback of Western Australia to Vietnamese rice paddies.

He incorporates these documentary forms into building a layered narrative through paint, collage, and handlettered texts. The artwork reflects a palimpsest approach of articulation through reinvention. Through these works, we journey alongside Raphael

through terrains both geographic and emotional, artistic expressions that evidence his imprimatur on our culture as a whole.

A two-year tour of exhibitions that travelled the globe, presenting his work to Milan, Florence, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Singapore, Los Angeles, Art Basel in Miami, and New York City was met with critical praise. Following the tour, Raphael immediately launched into an artwork and photo essay book collaboration with music impresario, Jimmy Lovine and rap producer, Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Interview Magazine joined with Carolyn Murphy in summer 2013 to host an exhibition of his work at his Montauk, Long Island home, adding to recent profiles of him in the Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Style Section. Paris Vogue has also featured Raphael several times, commenting that his style “oozes sensuality and charm.”

Raphael’s work is being featured in a month-long exhibition in London’s esteemed Castle Fine Art, Mayfair. A native of Vancouver, Canada, Raphael lives in Montauk, with his wife, Lisa, and his son, Sascha.

RAPHAEL MAZZUCCO

The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection. To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. Š Washington Green 2015. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission. washingtongreen.co.uk