John DeFaro is an American artist and designer whose interdisciplinary practice spans sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, fashion, performance, and photography. A self-taught artist, DeFaro draws from personal experience and cultural insight to create work shaped by environmental awareness and social engagement. He is also a gardener, naturalist, and three-time volunteer grant panelist for the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. In 2024, he became a Tropical Audubon Ambassador, deepening his commitment to environmental stewardship.
Born in Greenport, New York, DeFaro began his creative path on Eastern Long Island, where he connected with artists and designers and worked in his mid-20s as an assistant to curator and critic Henry Geldzahler. His early career included designing for Lexington Home Brands and exhibiting his weathervane sculpture The Wave at the Parrish Art Museum Design Biennial.
Since moving to Miami in 1995, DeFaro has exhibited widely, studied at Miami Ad School, and created limited-edition works in support of local arts and culture initiatives. His Green Paintings series and the performance piece Sew Me, featuring Niurca Márquez, debuted at Feria Clandestina Art Fair during Miami Art Week 2023. That same year, his wall assemblage was featured in Spectrum: Exploring Diversity in Art at the Miami-Dade Public Library. In 2024, he was one of ten artists selected for the Green Space Miami Open Call Exhibition, where he led two public workshops titled FREE AIR. In 2025, DeFaro received the Feria Clandestina Special Projects Award during Miami Art Week for FAMOUS OUTSIDE, a public art installation presented across the front lobby windows of the historic Gold Dust Motel on Biscayne Boulevard.
DeFaro is the founder of DeFaro LLC and Green Religion, a climate-aware design studio and cultural platform exploring the relationship between climate, culture, and participation. First secured more than two decades ago, greenreligion.com has evolved into an ongoing creative initiative expressed through original artwork, apparel, publishing, workshops, and public engagement. Through Green Religion, DeFaro is developing Climate AWEAR and Climate AWEARness, an evolving approach that explores how what we wear, use, and live with shapes how we think and care. The platform includes a growing shop of artist-designed goods and editions that help support ongoing projects, workshops, storytelling, and public participation.
His work has been recognized with COVID Artist Relief Grants from Oolite Arts Miami, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with Pérez Art Museum Miami, and Americans for the Arts, along with two Artist Access Grants from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. In 2024 and 2025, DeFaro also served as a grant panelist for both the Artist Access and SAS-C (Summer Arts and Sciences) programs with the Department.
John DeFaro BIO
John DeFaro. Photographers: Nicole Combeau and Trevor Owens
John DeFaro