Art Kaleidoscope

Between art and craft

Category Archive: Mosaics

Mosaic mural by Eric Fischl

Circus of Earthly Delights. Mosaic mural by Eric Fischl. 34th Street Subway Station, NYC

Circus of Earthly Delights. Mosaic mural by Eric Fischl. 34th Street Subway Station, NYC

Mosaic mural by Eric Fischl
Born in 1948, in Long Island, New York City, Fischl is a talented American painter and sculptor. He created realistic glass mosaic mural “Circus of Earthly Delights” at 34th Street Subway Station, Manhattan, in 1998. Later Fischl moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he attended Phoenix College and the California Institute for the Arts in 1972. He came back to New York City in 1978. “Circus of Earthly Delights” mosaics was dedicated to circus performances “The Greatest Show on Earth”, which was held annually at Madison Square Garden next to the Penn Station. Creating the large scale glass mosaics, Eric Fischl wanted “a passing passenger to forget about the daily routine and go on a journey of the spirit that comes from peace and harmony through the strangeness and chaos, and back again.”
More »

Alice in Wonderland New York Metro mosaics

Alice in Wonderland New York Metro mosaics. Alice, Hatter, Cinque

Hatter, Cinque and Alice – The Way Out. Alice in Wonderland New York Metro mosaics by Liliana Porter, 1994

Alice in Wonderland New York Metro mosaics

Twenty years ago New York based Argentinian artist Liliana Porter created four terracotta mosaic murals. In particular, “Alice: the way out” at the New York Metro Station (MTA Arts for Transit); 50th Station 1-9 lines (Manhattan). The idea of four mosaics on the walls of the station depicting Lewis Carroll’s character “Alice in Wonderland” – inspired by Broadway theaters located near the metro station.
Meanwhile, Liliana Porter left to the viewer the opportunity to supplement the details of shadow figures with their imagination. However, there are reasons that limit the flight of fantasy. And these reasons are simple – the childhood haunting illustrations by John Tenniel.
More »

Harlem Heroes mosaics

Flying Home - Harlem Heroes and Heroines (representatives of Arts). Harlem metro station mosaics by Faith Ringgold

Flying Home – Harlem Heroes mosaics by Faith Ringgold

Harlem Heroes mosaics
African-American artist Faith Ringgold created glass mosaics “Flying Home: Harlem Heroes and Heroines” at the 125 Street (Harlem) metro station, lines 2, 3, in 1996. Faith Ringgold is Professor of University of California at San Diego, an artist, an illustrator of children’s books, sculptor and writer. The most famous of her works – paintings, stories on the quilt. The name “Flying Home” – taken from the name of Lionel Hampton’s “Flying Home” that Feith Ryngold heard in her childhood.
In fact, Hampton’s orchestra was popular during the 1940s and early 1950s. Harlem Heroes mosaics located on the walls of the station platform, depict the famous African-Americans. In particular, as the angels hovering over the equally famous buildings that played an important role in the history of Harlem.
More »

Traditional Chinese house decorated with seashells

Traditional Chinese house decorated with seashell mosaics. Creation by a self-taught architect Xiao Yongsheng

Creation by a self-taught architect Xiao Yongsheng. Traditional Chinese house decorated with seashells

Traditional Chinese house decorated with seashells
Beautiful house, located in the Spanish city of Salamanca, became the most famous in the world thanks to its unusual decoration. In particular, three hundred shells which decorate its facade. But in China’s Shandong Province on the island of Lingshan there is a whole building made entirely of shells.
According to a self-taught architect Xiao Yongsheng, he spent two years trying to turn his traditional Chinese home into a real marine wonder. Meanwhile, the total area of the outside of the building – 1500 sq.m. 58-year-old merman Xiao Yongsheng doesn’t regret about time and effort to decorate the house with seafood found on his own private beach.
One morning after a swimming, he saw an unusual shell, and then he got the idea of a wonderful design. During his work, he found a variety of seashells – diameter from a few millimeters to giant specimens weighing up to four pounds! This natural building material master used in different ways – for external walls, tiles, door handles and mosaics.
More »

Creative carpet installations

Creative carpet installations. Fork Carpet by Dutch designers - Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten and Bob Waardenburg

Beautiful carpet made from forks. Work by Dutch designers – Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten and Bob Waardenburg. Creative carpet installations

Creative carpet installations
The trio of Dutch designers – Marcia Nolte, Stijn van der Vleuten and Bob Waardenburg create unusual art works in their studio ‘We Make Carpets’ in Amsterdam. Their carpet installations look like traditional carpets from a distance. But in fact consist of pencils and fireworks, cocktail umbrellas, plastic forks, dried pasta, and anything. Now the trio of designers ‘We Make Carpets’ mark the fifth anniversary of joint efforts and creation of 50 artworks.
Meanwhile, the recognition of their extraordinary creativity has become an exhibition at the museum in Eindhoven. The exhibition, called “Kneeling, we make carpets for five years” has attracted much attention. According to the artists, they wanted people to take a fresh look at those products. “We want them to become aware of their beauty. You don’t buy a paperclip because it’s beautiful, but it is.’
More »

Painted Egg Mosaics by Oksana Mas

Painted Egg Mosaics by Oksana Mas

Incredible work of art, detail of portrait. Painted Egg Mosaics by Oksana Mas

Painted Egg Mosaics by Oksana Mas
In fact, Ukrainian artist Oksana Mas lives and works between Odessa, Stockholm, Barcelona and Moscow. She creates incredible egg portraits from hand-painted wooden eggs in mosaic technique. Her unique artwork of Easter egg mosaics appeared at different art exhibitions, and in particular, in the Venice Biennale.
According to Oksana, she finds inspiration in traditional Ukrainian painted wooden eggs – krashenki. Noteworthy, Oksana doesn’t paint these eggs herself, they are already painted by different people to celebrate Easter, and she is just experimenting with them to create her art. So if you come close to the installation you may admire separate pieces of her creation, and the same pleasure you’ll have looking at the pictures at a distance.
More »

Traditional Japanese patchwork Kinusaiga art

Traditional Japanese patchwork Kinusaiga art Maeno Takashi

The blue bridge over the river. Work by Maeno Takashi, Traditional Japanese patchwork Kinusaiga art

Japanese patchwork Kinusaiga art
In fact, this art is a combination of several techniques – patchwork and batik, and even wood carving, or painting on wood with pieces of silk. Also, the pictures – created from recycled materials.
Noteworthy, the the founder of the Kinusaiga art – Japanese master Maeno Takashi, professor at the University. Her works are permanent participants of art exhibitions. Besides, she has published some books on the art, which became popular and actively sold. Kinusaiga – pretty young art, year of birth – 1987, but these pictures has already gained popularity all over the world. Japanese and Chinese art is poetic, quiet, harmonious.
More »