Jean Paul Mallozzi-Diaz is a contemporary visual artist based in Miami, Florida, whose work explores memory, intimacy, desire, and cultural identity. His practice is rooted in his experience as a first-generation gay Latino.
He is a recipient of the MIA Grant (2026) and a Cultural Consortium Grant ([2025), one of 15 South Florida visual and media artists by the alliance of the Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach County arts councils. His work has been acquired by the City of Miami’s public art collection, and he was accepted into the New York Art Residency and Studios (NARS) program in Brooklyn NY (2026).
In 2025, his work was included in ‘Don’t Look Now’, curated by Barbara Pollack in New York City, alongside Marilyn Minter, Shepard Fairey, and Dread Scott. He was blind juried into New American Paintings in 2025 by Alexis Assam, Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and in 2022 by Amanda Morgan, Assistant Curator, Exhibitions and Publications, at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.
“My work comes from memories of a time when I felt sexually free, with no hesitation. When I paint a kiss or something more physical, it’s hot, and it’s joyful. I love seeing people engage with that kind of freedom. I grew up in a conservative Latino, immigrant household, with its own customs, biases, and religious beliefs. Getting past those and coming out was hard, and it was also the best thing I ever did. My paintings are about that freedom and about claiming the love, pleasure, and identity that are mine.”