"Full Flower" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii

A leader of the cross-cultural craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass made by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Using traditional Italian techniques, Kii’s art is nonetheless modern. It is monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured and highlights the involved and technical art of mosaic making. In this mosaic entitled "Full Flower," Kii layers patterns like the unfurling petals of an open flower blossom. Joyous and full of life, layers of stripes, zig-zags, spirals, and waves combine to form a cohesive whole, spilling outwards from the mosaic's center.