{"id":186,"date":"2024-02-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/14\/toyoharu-kii-master-of-modern-mosaics\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T22:17:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T22:17:30","slug":"toyoharu-kii-master-of-modern-mosaics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/24\/toyoharu-kii-master-of-modern-mosaics\/","title":{"rendered":"Toyoharu Kii: Master of Modern Mosaics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A leader in the global craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii works with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass handmade by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Constructed using traditional techniques, his art is nonetheless modern. Kii\u2019s work is abstract and highly textured \u2014 highlighting the intricate process in the often-overlooked art of mosaic making.<\/p>\n

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Toyoharu Kii’s white marble mosaics add incredible texture to the PAGODA RED showroom.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Born in Ehime, Japan in 1953, Toyoharu Kii began his art career as an oil painter. Uninspired by the medium, he sought out another form of expression and found it in art of stone mosaic making. While studying at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts in the 1970s, Kii learned Italian to prepare for a trip to Italy to learn directly from the masters. After graduating, he moved to Florence on a scholarship from the Italian government and honed his craft at The Art Institute of Florence. When he returned to Japan in 1982, he took this new found knowledge back with him and he opened his own mosaic studio Atelier ING.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Toyoharu Kii leads a workshop at the Chicago Mosaic School.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Toyoharu Kii has come to be revered as one of Japan\u2019s leading mosaic artists and teachers, and has served as Chairman of the Mosaic Art Association. He is a longtime visiting instructor at the Chicago Mosaic School and shares his knowledge with students and amateurs alike. His work has been featured in exhibitions worldwide, most recently in exhibitions in the US, Ravenna, Italy, France and Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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