"Matriel, " Mixed Media Mosaic, 2022

A leader of the cross-cultural Craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii creates his intricate mosaics with handcut 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...

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. Clas...

In the mosaic “Accumulated Roads,” Toyoharu Kii describes the futility of man’s attempts to traverse and tame nature. The work portrays a tangle of once carefully aligned tesserea pa...

In the mosaic “A Wheel Stopper,” Toyoharu Kii records an object he encounters everyday while walking his dog. The round form, striped by small, rectangular tesserae, represents a bol...

Landscape sheet metal, wood, found objects 33 x 61in. Artist statement: I seldom use stock material, but prefer distressed and rusted steel that has been scarred, bent, and made im...

Silk Road sheet metal 24 x 69 in. Artist statement I seldom use stock material, but prefer distressed and rusted steel that has been scarred, bent, and made imperfect. In this state, the material becomes quite beautiful. There are figurative elements in my work, though I am more drawn to the non-figurative, to the raw and essential aspect of steel. The industrial purpose of steel must be considered, its use in construction, manufacturing, the military. Steel is forged with enormous energy and power. The process is violent, loud. Here, it is still and approachable. The compositions are constructed mainly from found parts. Their relationships manifest as I interact with the material. The pieces interlock, balance, and become fitted before I fasten or weld them together. The engineering is elemental. Altering the material is avoided. The number of parts kept to a minimum. Art is my spiritual exercise, my selflessness. It identifies me as a creator and satisfies my human longing for place and purpose. It needs not to be great, or preeminent, or commercial. Art speaks because it is primitive. It exists because it is sacred. Biography: Scott Gordon was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey in 1966. He attended the University of Denver where he studied business and the University of Washington where he pursued an MFA in creative writing. While he was in Seattle, he was introduced to steel as an employee of the David Gulassa Company, a fabrication shop which produced custom furniture and architectural fixtures. At Gulassa, after hours and on weekends, Scott worked on personal projects, applying the tools and techniques used in his daily work. Lacking resources to purchase stock materials, much of the steel he used came from the scrap bins at Gulassa. He also used steel found along the railways, shipyards, and industrial corridors of Seattle. The characteristics and limitations of the material helped him to define his aesthetic and his approach to sculpture. He currently lives and works in Vermont. Inspirations: David Smith, Anthony Caro, John Chamberlain, Julio Gonzalez, Richard Stankiewicz, Tony Smith...

Red Center found sheet metal 33.5 x 36 in. Artist statement I seldom use stock material, but prefer distressed and rusted steel that has been scarred, bent, and made imperfect. In ...

Radiant Man (Crucifixion) wood, found objects 19.5 x 35 in. Artist statement I seldom use stock material, but prefer distressed and rusted steel that has been scarred, bent, and ma...