Jozza

Jozza was born in 1958 in Hidrolandia, a small town located in central Brazil. His passion for art began when he was very young, and was inspired by his mother Maria who was an art teacher. He grew up helping his father with his lumber storage; there he started to create wooden sculptures.

After stints in studying law, running a pizza place, and being a soccer player, Jozza returned to art. Jozza he moved to the United States where he relocated to Miami, Fl. His economic situation was bad. He began to work in restaurants, and went to work at Pizza Via on Lincoln Road, which was next door to the Romero Britto Gallery. Britto used to go to Pizza Via for lunch. Jozza and Britto started a conversation and found out they were both from Brazil. They spoke on many occasions. During one of their conversations, Britto invited Jozza to come work with him. Jozza was very excited to have the privilege to work and learn with a master. He worked with Britto for two years, and he was the first and only Britto Student.

He thanks Britto every day for all that he did for him during the two years he spent working with him. Britto is one of the nicest and most generous people he has ever met. In the year 2000 Jozza had his first exhibition, at Biscayne Tower I in downtown Miami, and he had a taste of what it was like to sell his first piece, and from that experience, he started to exhibit his artwork at different galleries.