Marcelo Coelho is an artist, designer and researcher, whose work explores how physical and computational materials can be used to create new human experiences. Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Marcelo holds a BFA in Computation Arts, with highest honours, from Concordia University in Montreal, and a PhD from the Fluid Interfaces Group at the MIT Media Lab.
Prior to moving to Cambridge, Marcelo was a Research Partner at XS Labs, where he worked on the development of paper computers, shape-changing garments and interactive textiles by combining ordinary materials and electronics through a broad range of craft and digital fabrication techniques. At MIT, his research focused on the development of programmable surfaces and amorphous displays that take full advantage of our senses and reveal new opportunities for computational aesthetics.
Marcelo’s art and design work has been exhibited internationally, in venues such as Ars Electronica (Austria), Design Miami/Basel (Switzerland), The Corcoran Gallery (Washington, DC), Dutch Design Week (Netherlands), Saint-Etienne International Design Biennial (France), The Creators Project (New York, San Francisco and Sao Paulo), The Tech Museum (San Jose), Riflemaker Gallery (England), and Johnson Trading Gallery (New York). His work has also won several awards including the W Hotels Designer of the Future Award, Honorary Mention at Ars Electronica, Honourable Mention from ID Magazine Design Review, and CHI Best Video Golden Mouse Award. Academically, Marcelo’s research has been widely published in books, journals, popular press and academic conferences. At the MIT Media Lab, he taught courses on DIY Manufacturing and Techniques for Design and Fabrication. He also organizes the Transitive Materials workshops, a series of multidisciplinary gatherings that bring together artists, designers, scientists and researchers working at the shifting boundaries between people, materials and computers.
Marcelo currently spends his time building large-scale interactive sculptures at Zigelbaum + Coelho and etching nano-scale drawings at MIT, where he is a Research Affiliate.
