Identity Art Home › Michael Matzko - Creative

Exploring the human spirit, one person at a time

Identity Art is based on the belief that your story is the core of your being.

We have the ability to express our story in a way which cannot be accomplished through words alone. Everyone has unique profound experiences that make us truly human, and exploring your emotional identity can lead to a profound and personally powerful masterpiece.

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The best way to understand identity art is to have a small experience of it!

Prints, NFTs and other mediums

Michael Matzko has been creating portraits for over 15 years. His most powerful shoots have been sessions which were created around intensely personal stories. The idea that your identity, based on your experiences, thoughts and feelings, form who you think you are and have been the subject of Mr. Matzko’s art for several years.

If you like what you see, follow us on Social Media!

matzkostudio

Exploring the art of being human. #michaelmatzko

From the Isolation series: Exploring the loss of

From the Isolation series:

Exploring the loss of connection coupled with the innate human need to connect. The next several posts will feature the initial photos which were not selected for the final collection.

Many thanks to the talented muse @jo.beachh
Makeup: @cheysspace
Asst Makeup: @jervinmakeup

#michaelmatzko #identity #tellyourstory

#mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthsupport #mentalhealthadvocate #mentalhealthrecovery #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealth #artportraits #greyscale #artcollector #artcollector #gallery #galleryshow #gallerywall #isolation #selfexpression

Life is sloppy - and very intentional. You get 2 p

Life is sloppy - and very intentional.
You get 2 posts today!
Cincinnati Pride 2022

#michaelmatzko #tellyourstory #identity

#cincinnatipride #lbtq #lbtqia #cincinnati #cincypride

Life is sloppy - and very intentional. Cincinnati

Life is sloppy - and very intentional.

Cincinnati Pride 2022

#michaelmatzko #tellyourstory #identity

#cincinnatipride #lbtq #lbtqia #cincinnati #cincypride

I think the world is complex, in part because so m

I think the world is complex, in part because so many things are put into neat categories and boxes. In reality, it's the moments in between the stories that make the difference, that make it interesting.

What intrigues me the most isn't the celebrations which we so often capture, its the significant thoughts and personal events that drive you, that form the core of who you are. That is worth trying to capture - part of a personal journey.

Now booking Identity portraits - a few July spots are left. See the link in my bio for details.

This is part of a editorial concept series on Personal Isolation.
@jo.beachh @ashtryagain
MUA: @cheysspace
MUA Asst: @jervinmakeup

#michaelmatzko #identityart #tellyourstory

#identity #mentalhealthmatters #fineart #mentalhealth #fineartportrait #fineartportraits #mentalwellness #printsforsale #mentalhealthsupport #artmatters #artgallery #artwork #personalstory #soc #straightoutofcamera #nikon #nikonusa

Chinatown, 2022 I love the details in this one -

Chinatown, 2022

I love the details in this one - hard to see on a small screen but full of life in a large print! This is one of my favorite images from our recent NYC trip - trying to embody the culture, hustle and grind of this historical neighborhood.

When you tell the story of each person one at a time, you start to see and feel the threads in the tales - and collectively, these help painter a larger picture of what it means to be human. This spreads to community, neighborhoods, cities, regions, countries and eventually the entire world.

#tellyourstory
#michaelmatzko #identity

#chinatown #newyork #nyc #streetphotography #culture #street #streetstyle #newyorkcity #newyorklife #newyorknewyork #newyork_instagram

Texas , 2021 - from a digital photo animation as p

Texas , 2021 - from a digital photo animation as part of the Inside Out collection. Now showing in a virtual exhibition running until 6/30 (link in bio).

Most of us spend a life time understanding who we are - you could say it's a universal trait. I'm curious who you see in this photo - male, female, neither? Someone full of power or a victim?

Now booking June and July - tell your story, the human story, one person at a time.

#mentalhealth #mentalwellness #mentalhealthmatters #fineartportrait #fineartportraits #fineart #tellyourstory #identity #michaelmatzko

Inside Out - a virtual exhibit is now LIVE! https:

Inside Out - a virtual exhibit is now LIVE!
https://michaelmatzko.com/virtual-exhibit-inside-out
(link in bio)

@liu.mo

#NFT #nftcommunity #nftartist #fineart #virtualgallery #metaverse #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #printsforsale #michaelmatzko #tellyourstory #identity #pandemicart

Would love for you to stop by and check out my fir

Would love for you to stop by and check out my first virtual exhibit "Inside Out". There will be over 60 works shown in an online gallery setting, with the ability to purchase prints and participate in a genesis NFT collection. 40% of the proceeds from the initial NFT sales will be donated to the Lindner Center of HOPE

#mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #mentalhealthsupport #virtualexhibit #virtualexhibition #artmatters #fineart

The Child I've been thinking about children and c

The Child
I've been thinking about children and childhood a lot lately - sadly, in my lifetime, there has been little change on the issues which I remember embraced the tv screens of my youth. In the 70's, the conversations I remember (mostly in the form of books and actual news broadcasts) were about climate change, social injustice, power abuse, mental health, pay inequalities, rights of choice, international wars/conflicts, Russia, China, Africa and the list goes on. We had nuclear bomb drills in our schools - todays its mass shooters.

Coupled with a challenging personal childhood, I primarily coped by withdrawing, by playing music for hours and exploring outside in the woods and streams in rural NE. Those that know me well can see how this has impacted my social interactions today - both for the better and worse. Like everyone's journey, it's a work in progress.

I imagined my adult life would be very different - that we would "progress" as a country and a race. It IS different today. ... now it's the same topics, but heightened exponentially by technology and the internet.

I'm certainly not against technology- in fact I embrace it and use it as a creative force - it can also expose enormous amounts of good if you look for it. But I think of children, and how they are exposed to the world we create every day - not by a fleeting set of images once a day on tv or a book that is slowly digested, but a constant stream of opinions and negativity.

This is why I have been changing my business over the past two years to help explore and express the complexities of mental health, of our personal identities, who we are, and who we want to become.

My first virtual exhibit will start Weds evening at 6PM. In addition to the work displayed about many of the themes above, exposed during the pandemic, I will be selling a large NFT collection where the 40% of the initial sales will be donated to the
@lindnercenterofhope , a non-profit center for mental health based in Cincinnati, serving both adolescents and adults.

#virtualexhibit #fineart #mchaelmatzko #tellyourstory #identityart #igart #fineartprints #artwork #artgallery #nftcollector

Inside Out, a virtual exhibition, featuring works

Inside Out, a virtual exhibition, featuring works exploring mental health and the genesis #nft collection on @opensea opens in 4 days!

#michaelmatzko #identityart #tellyourstory #virtualexhibition #virtualexhibit #mentalhealthawareness

Save the date! I will be releasing my first Virtu

Save the date! I will be releasing my first Virtual Exhibit entitled Inside Out on June 1, 2022! This online gallery will contain a currated collection of works works created about topics inspired by the events of the last three years of the pandemic. You'll be able to explore a full gallery walkthrough and view not only digital samples of the works, but also buy prints and NFTs from a genesis collection created for the event!

This particular image was taken during a remote shoot during the lockdown in 2020 with @daniellemkey - several of those images will be featured in the exhibit.

#michaelmatzko #identity #tellyourstory

#artphotography #gallery #gallerywall #nft #nfts @opensea #virtualexhibition #virtualgallery #movement #artpieces #artcollectors #nftcollector #prints #archivalprints #printsforsale #nftsfo

Busy these days working on concepts around what I

Busy these days working on concepts around what I like to call identity art. Getting under the skin and telling your story - the real you, not just a smile. If you're tired of scrolling through the same old types of images, with little personal meaning, we should talk.

From one of my favorite portraits of @haleyk01_modeling which will be featured in my upcoming virtual exhibit.

#michaelmatzko #identityart #tellyourstory

#finartportraits #fineartportrait #meaning #personalstory #mentalhealth #beautyphotography #beautyphoto #beautyphotographer
#personalportrait #meaningfulart

Everyone has a story - its our personal connection

Everyone has a story - its our personal connection to the world. What's yours?

Now booking the few remaining creative photoshoots for June and July!

#michaelmatzko #identityart #tellyourstory

#personal #creativeart #alopecia #shareyourstruggle #makeartnotwar

Cityscapes 1-3 Cities, like people, have stories

Cityscapes 1-3

Cities, like people, have stories that transform over time. The city is both a reflection and a manifestation of all its residents, businesses, politics and religions. Having visited New York City over 4 decades, the transformation is especially remarkable - not better or worse but different. Always an inspiration.

#michaelmatzko #nyc

#newyork #cityscape #streetscape #streetscapeart #bridges #dumbo #expression #identity #cityidentity #brooklyn #manhanttan #citylife #newyorklife #NewYorkTimes #newyorknewyork #newyork_instagram

Chinatown - Family While in #nyc last week, we we

Chinatown - Family
While in #nyc last week, we were inspired by the endless stimulation of great artists, both dead and alive. In particular, the works of Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Picasso and Richard Hambleton were truly humbling in person - something the digital world can't express.

I didn't shoot a lot this week but decided to apply my latest explorations to street photography in Chinatown and Little Italy.

In the meantime, I'm pretty stoked to be working on several upcoming projects including a virtual show at the end of the month - super excited to share that news!

#michaelmatzko #identityart #tellyourstory

#identity #chinatown #family #streetphotographers #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthadvocate #mentalhealthrecovery #mentalhealthisimportant #cityscapes #streetshot #newyork_ig #newyorkcity #artgallerys #artgallerynyc

Mental health - is there anything more personal?

Mental health - is there anything more personal? Amplified on steroids over the past several years. It is a constant commentary of our youth, a silent burden of our elderly, and sadly, seems to be one of the most common traits of being human across the globe. ⁠
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How do you express this? It's time to tell your story. ⁠
⁠
@haleyk01_modeling⁠
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#michaelmatzko #identity #tellyourstory #mentalhealthawareness⁠
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Visual art can be a powerful communicator when wor

Visual art can be a powerful communicator when words fail. ⁠
We went to MoMA in NYC Friday and to say the least, being so close to so many historical and powerful works is truly a humbling feeling. The works were generally centered around "everyday people" and places and they tell stories and express feelings in a way that is truly powerful. Seeing them in person, seeing the texture, the scale reminds me how prints can be so much more fulfilling than a pure digital replication.⁠
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@liu.mo⁠
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#michaelmatzko #tellyourstory #identity

We all have stories to tell - complex and dominant

We all have stories to tell - complex and dominant in our minds, unknown to most. These thoughts form our identity - and collectively, they make up a society. Think about that a bit. . . ⁠
⁠
@olivia_bruno⁠
@sean_fergie18⁠
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#michaelmatzko #identity #tellyourstory

The pandemic changed a lot - for me, art went from

The pandemic changed a lot - for me, art went from creating "the image" to "telling the story". Fact is, I love telling people's stories - reflecting their own self back to them.⁠
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This collection of images of @genevieve.madison_ was taken during a remote shoot during the lockdown in April 2020. I did 5 shoots during a month and a half period that will be in a virtual exhibit (more on that to follow!) Remote shoots fascinate me - you get a whole new pallet of challenges to work with! ⁠
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What are your thoughts on remote sessions?⁠
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#michaelmatzko #identityart #tellyourstory

We all have a story to tell - beauty is deeper tha

We all have a story to tell - beauty is deeper than skin. Which do you prefer, 1,2 or 3? Let me know below!

Thanks to the wonderful @officialmayra_
Makeup: @cheyennewrightartistry
@heymantalentagency

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