"Pieces in Plexus" Mosaic by Toyoharu Kii

Entitled "Pieces in Plexus," this mosaic work by Japanese artist Toyoharu Kii tells a story of nature and rebirth. As with many of Kii's works, the lively and chaotic field of white marble tesserae represents the damage inflicted upon the earth by human activity. In the aftermath of wreckage, life returns slowly, sickened and rendered in shades of red. With time, nature begins to heal itself, cutting through the devastation with a thin current of color. In the artist's own words, "Pieces in Plexus is a story of broken fragments. They were buried in soil and reappeared with leaves."

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.