WHY WE WON'T MAKE A MOSAIC FOR YOU
Is Your Location Adequate?
You cannot put one of our art mosaics just anywhere. Find our if your location is ready.
An excerpt from my book «LIKE THE GODS» - Chapter 5, "Let us clear some doubts", 5.2, "Not everybody can have it"
«Especially with architectural mosaics, the location must be adequate.
An accurate survey is needed, to assess not only the technical appropriateness of the structure, but also the stylistic adequacy, the position, the surrounding furniture, any fittings, natural and artificial lighting and other features that make the place altogether harmonious.
In some instances, the location will be unsuitable to host an art mosaic; on a case-by-case basis, we shall establish if some structural or ancillary modifications can fix the issues, in other cases the location will be so inappropriate that the mosaic atelier will kindly but firmly refuse the commission.»
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A CHAT WITH...
Andrea Langhi, Architect
(Andrea Langhi Design)
[...]The research I do is “brand orientated” in the sense that I prefer to communicate it physically rather than just through words. Words are a placement mechanism, the design is another. Both need to communicate the same thing. This allows me to work on very varied projects that can seem to compete with one another, but while they are similar, with my design they can both have their own identity.
In this way of doing things the architect behind the project is hard to identify. And again, since an architect is typically an egotist his personal identity is usually at the centre of the project, whereas I prefer to keep it hidden. This way I believe I serve best my client's interests.
Read the full interview, and much more, in the Symposium of the Immortals, the exclusive club for lovers of the true art mosaic!
TESTIMONIALS
What our clients say about us
A mosaic is always more than just the sum of its parts and this is specially true with Silvia Jencinella's work Our Lady of Einsiedeln. It expresses the fact that out of love for perfection we must take care of the individual, and protect the multiplicity. This is the only way to open up our vision of the real image, to understand how the integration of diverse elements is an enrichment. This is especially evident when we look at the specific political and geographic context the artwork currently resides, and shines, in Nazareth in the heart of Middle East. May this hope, represented by the mosaic, become someday reality also for the inhabitants of this region. Multiplicity of persons, cultures and visions of the world is not a danger but an advantage. A hope that now accompanies me daily, through the bookmarker with a picture of the mosaic, which I received from Father Gottfried.
It was by pure chance that I met Silvia Iencinella and Stefano Toria - in fact I had already met Stefano on a project at his previous job.
My mother lives at the main floor of a gentry palace built in the early 1800s; for about a month, the house was borrowed by a film crew for shooting a few scenes. The outward side of the house consists of three large halls, adding up to some 150 sq. mt., fully paved in vintage mosaic - which has been fully and meticulously restored along the years. During the film shooting work, unfortunately part of the mosaics were conspicuously damaged.
The production insurance would cover the damage, but we needed to shop for the best possible restoration personnel, which was not an easy task; I ended up having to choose between a well-known mosaic master, and Silvia... her smile was the first thing that won my heart, but then I could appreciate her precision, professionalism and thoroughness, in the making of the quotation. She got me right from the start, never mind the numbers, I trusted her personally, convinced by her humanity and reliability. The job was hers, and never did I make a better choice.
She performed impeccably, always finding the most appropriate solutions even from a cost/benefit point of view; but beyond this, I enjoyed the pleasure of having found an authentic person, who in time became a true friend. I was sorry when she decided to leave Orvieto together with her family, and the only comfort was to know that they were happy and fulfilled in their new home.
And there's always Internet, that draws us close.
We were deeply touched, in Einsiedeln, by the Madonna of the Hermits for Nazareth; what a splendour, what a fire, moving - simply splendid and majestic. Silvia proves her great artistic and manual talent! May this worth attest our connection to the Madonna, and the birthplace of Jesus.
Through the Einsiedeln Madonna mosaic I had the opportunity of getting to know Silvia Iencinella's work better, and appreciate it more.
A meticulous and precise work, showing at one time strong feelings and a sincere dedication to the representation of the Mother of Christ.
Silvia succeeded in spanning a bridge between the religious vision of this image, and the modern symbolic representation.
Her modern artworks are also very interesting.
I look with great satisfaction at the work I commissioned at the beginning of 2014 from Silvia Iencinella of Knonau. The artist created for Nazareth a unique and marvellous work of art. A part of Swiss culture for the Holy Land! Benefactors from Switzerland and Liechtenstein can rejoice, proud that such a majestic artwork has been made in our home for the home of Jesus.
As Franciscan Commissary for the Holy Land in Switzerland and Liechtenstein I am particularly happy of this successful artwork.
Beginning with the procedure proposal with full description of materials, along the actual restoration work, until the documented report on the completed works, Musiv'Arte has led an open and transparent dialogue on the measures to be adopted - and in the protection of monuments this is a central condition for the achievement of good cooperation work. The work of Musiv'Arte has given an impression of respect and responsibility towards the historic work; our cooperation and exchange of information on technical and ethic topics of conservation have resulted in a reciprocal enrichment.
I worked together with Silvia Iencinella and Stefano Toria on a project for the «Università delle tre età (UNITRE)» in Lucerne. I was immediately impressed by their reliability and professionalism, and by their enthusiasm in taking part to this project. Silvia adapted herself to the logistic of the environment, which was not the best possible. She modified the setting to make it more functional for our students. Stefano offered his precious help, by being always present and aware of the needs of students and of the course. Students of different origin and age, but Silvia and Stefano have worked to motivate these people to get to know the beautiful art of mosaic. Each lesson was an opportunity to turn into oneself through the handwork of cutting and assembling, a kind of meditation and at the same time an immersion in the Italian culture. Among the courses offered by UNITRE, the mosaic course has certainly made a strong impression in our memories, due to the professionalism and motivation of the teachers.
In 2014 Silvia kindly agreed to help my grade 2/3 class of international students complete a large wall mosaic. Silvia truly enjoyed working with the children. She was a patient and kind teacher and the students immediately felt comfortable learning from and working with her. The project was a giant undertaking and one that could not have been completed without Silvia’s expertise and dedication. Not only is she a master craftsman but she was also able to balance the varying interests and suggestions from the children and the school. The mosaic was a classroom project and the pictures were generated by the children. These were then expertly replicated and woven into a whole. Under Silvia’s guidance the students then carefully laid the tiles. The panel layout maximizes the space without making the art appear overwhelming. In addition, the careful thought behind the use of texture and the 3-D nature of the globe make the mosaic come alive. Finally, throughout the project, Silvia was very conscious of the children’s safety and the artwork is absolutely secure and even welcomes touch. I highly recommend Silvia for any mosaic project and am extremely grateful that she agreed to help make ours. The experience was one that the students will never forget and the mosaic itself is a beautiful commemoration of teamwork.
GET TO KNOW US
Our Team
Silvia Jencinella (Art director). I started my professional art curriculum by achieving a Certificate in Graphic Arts and Publishing, at the Accademia Altieri. Following the achievement, I underwent mosaic tuition with some among the greatest contemporary mosaic artists, who have shaped my technique and my artistry.
By founding Musiv'Arte (now MosArtek since 2017), I turned into an enterprise the skills which I had displayed since childhood, as testified by a «Blessing Christ» (St. Mark, Venice) in paper mosaic, which I made at the age of nine.
I am a Christian artist, applying to my art the principles of respect and dignity, both my own and every other's. MosArtek does not take commissions with offensive, allusive, blasphemous, erotic or similar contents.
Stefano Toria (Marketing and Customer Relations). After a degree in Economics and Trade, I was active for over forty years in IT, communication and marketing.
My professional experience includes security, consulting and tuition; my hobbies and interests have developed my manual abilities, which allow me to extend my contribution also to technical support in the binding and finishing of the atelier's art works.
Virginia Zanotti (Mosaic artist) “. I was born in Cesena, Italy ...not far from Ravenna, the mosaic city par excellence. Since ever in love with art in every form, I approached mosaic in 2004 almost by chance (I do not believe in chance anyway) and I never managed to move away: through this technique I found my dimension, it enabled me to work, live, travel and meet people who made the tiny little tesserae of the mosaic of my life.
Forever searching and experimenting, I am following the trend of using mosaic as a means of deep expression and self-search, with the goal of helping people meet and love this ancient art, which has been appropriately defined «painting for eternity» (G. Vasari, 1568)”
Germana Brizio(Editor) “.After graduating from high school in Classics, I studied painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, and qualified as an art teacher.
My production spans along different styles, techniques and materials, including paintings, sculpture, poetry and installations. My works are part of international collections, an example being a 3x2m. painting on the façade of the Church of S. Ignazio in Rome, and the altar tablet in the Church "Mater Penitentia" in Tirana, Albania.
I am featured in art catalogues and magazines, in the Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Italian Art (vol. IX) publ. La Ginestra 1979, and in the Art Diary Italia yearbook since 1991.
THE ORIGINS OF MOSARTEK
Our story
Over the course of 17 years an interesting journey can be undertaken. You meet many people, visit places and learn new things. Sometimes you get entangled in a problem, sometimes tiredness takes over and uncertainty makes you think «Whose idea was this, anyway? Wouldn't it have been better to stay where I was, in control and with no hitches, no situations I'd struggle to overcome?»
Quite so. However, you then need to accept boredom, tedious routines and that leaden sensation that invades mind and body. So, onwards and upwards: we carry on with the adventure in the knowledge that the doubts will certainly return, and the temptation to stop and feel crazy for having undertaken such a journey to begin with will never leave us alone. I've felt this way over the course of these 17 years, with feet and ankles swollen from the many kilometres I've covered, and the journey still continues.
In my luggage I've collected some treasures of inestimable value and I've met many people, some of whom I've argued with, and they've all left their mark on me. Once in a while I stop for breath and take stock of things. Every time I do this I leave a sign of some kind on the roadside, and the people I've met along the way realise I've been there when they also pass by.
My journey began in 2000 when I met my first mosaic teacher. It happened almost by chance, although later I realised it was actually anything but chance (which I'm writing about in my next book), recently returned as I was from the world of business administration, IT and graphics. The journey continues.
Between a failure and moment of euphoria, the discomfiture of a structural collapse and the delight of a sequence of well-assorted mosaic tiles, in 2005 I opened my studio in the heart of the centre of Orvieto, called Musiv’Arte.
I stayed there for two years, during which time I honed my technique with the help of the experts whose help I travelled the length and breadth of Europe to seek out. Then there came another moment of relaunch, another level to progress to: I arrived in Zurich, Switzerland in 2007 with all my luggage and reopened the studio in a beautiful farmhouse built 200 years previously and recently restored.
The journey with Musiv’Arte going forwards has always been increasingly fascinating - new experts, fresh techniques, excellent materials and wonderful people. For the ten-year anniversary of Musiv'Arte in 2015 I celebrated with clients, family and friends.
After another two years it was time to bring things up to date once more with a new name, «MosArtek», and I headed off into new adventures with new travel companions and fresh horizons. The technical word is «rebranding», but I like to think of it as a smart new suit to replace a well-seasoned Italian jacket.
FOR EVER!
Guarantee
- the certificate of origin, which identifies and describes the work, with the date, the artist's signature, and a unique code;
- the instructions for cleaning and maintenance, to make your artwork as splendid as on the day you received it;
- the certificate of guarantee.
- any damage deliberately made, or in any case due to the direct action of man (e.g. use of aggressive cleaning materials, in contravention to the instructions provided)
- using the artwork otherwise than specified when it was commissioned (e.g. artwork made for indoors, placed outdoors; or wall mosaic placed on the pavement)
- damages by third parties or by acts of nature (e.g. car hitting the artwork; earthquake)
WORKS WE'VE DONE
Gallery of our artworks
Here is a short display of works we made our clients happy with.
Click here to see a wider selection of pictures
