Intricate, ethereal and highly textured, the abstract compositions of Japanese mosaic artist Toyoharu Kii reflect a sophisticated approach to the technical art of mosaic making. Classically trained in Florence, Italy, Kii creates his modern mosaics using traditional techniques and materials, including hand-cut Italian marble and Venetian smalti glass. Eschewing the figural in favor of the abstract, his mosaics rely on contrasts of pattern and form to convey complex themes and achieve visual harmony.
Toyoharu Kii’s latest body of work “Geophytes” continues themes of rebirth and renewal. A reference to plants that regrow from hidden elements beneath the earth’s surface, the series celebrates the resilience of the natural world. Each mosaic is imagined as a landscape that documents a history of environmental damage due to human activity, and the subsequent return of nature as a restorative force. Through the juxtaposition of patterns and the interplay of order and disorder, Kii creates man-made “images of destruction” and finds hope in the future by “reconstructing nature.”
In this mosaic entitled "Pansy (New Flower)," Kii depicts bright flowers in full bloom across a field of white marble. As in other works, the orderly, grid-like arrangements of white tesserae represent an environment damaged by human activity, rigid and inhospitable to life. Amidst this barren backdrop, “nature itself is reborn,” represented with colorful smalti glass and lively, abstract patterns in the form of blossoming flowers and leaves. A symbol of spring and rebirth, the flowers act as an emblem of hope.
“Pansy (New Flower),” 2021
Toyoharu Kii (b. 1953)
Marble mosaic and smalti on wood board.
