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 "White Rainbow," Kii arranges abstract shapes and geometric patterns to suggest that something is amiss in the natural world. Here, the grid-like expanse of orderly, white tesserae that comprises most of the mosaic represents a landscape shaped by mankind. Various forms interrupt this order, each a microcosm of natural phenomena. At the bottom of the mosaic, a tree is drained of color - perhaps no longer sustained by its surroundings. Above it, a white rainbow bows upwards - an omen of change. A “little mountain” balances on its point, split between man-made patterns and chaotic currents of silver and gold. And finally, a geometric pattern known as asanoha, or hemp leaves, radiates from the top of the landscape, representing growth, harmony and the emergence of a new environmental order.
“White Rainbow,” 2023
Toyoharu Kii (b. 1953)
Marble mosaic and smalti on wood board.
