"Other Side of Partition" 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. Highlighting the involved and technical art of mosaic-making, his works are monochromatic, abstract, and highly textured.

In this monochrome mosaic entitled "Other Side of Partition," Kii plays with the varied shape and depth of each tesserae to create an eye-catching tapestry of light and shadow, which color might otherwise obscure.