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, curiosity, and close engagement with the living world. He is also a gardener and Tropical Audubon Ambassador.
Born in Greenport, New York, DeFaro began his creative path on Eastern Long Island, where he worked 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 supporting local arts and culture. 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 art and design platform exploring the relationship between climate, culture, and participation. First secured more than two decades ago, greenreligion.com has evolved into an ongoing creative practice expressed through original artwork, apparel, publishing, workshops, and public engagement. Through Green Religion, DeFaro is developing Climate AWEAR and Climate AWEARness, exploring how what we wear, use, and live with shapes our relationship with the living world.
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 served as a grant panelist for the Department's Artist Access and Summer Arts and Sciences (SAS-C) programs.
John DeFaro BIO
John DeFaro. Photographers: Nicole Combeau and Trevor Owens
John DeFaro