Agnieszka Kwiatkowska: Contemporary Mosiacs
Polish artist Agnieszka Kwiatkowska uses natural stones as her primary medium, creating visually stunning and highly intricate mosaics. After studying the traditional art of mosaics in Italy, Agnieszka began to create her very own mosiacs, adding a contemprary spin on this age-old art form. In this interview, Agnieszka shares her fascinating process for piecing together these works of art.
Tell me about your background and where your creative journey began.
I’ve always been a very creative person. As a child in Poland I used to make little figurines from old cables and dress them in tiny dresses made of grass and flower petals. As a teenager I made my own bags, clothing and jewelry. I was always busy “making things”. When I was really bored I painted or drew things that were laying around in my room, but never treated artistic career seriously. In high school I wanted to become a doctor and eventually I chose a career in advertising. It was only after some years in the corporate world that I decided to pursue art full time and moved to Italy to study mosaic art full time.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
I’m inspired by nature and by the materials itself. I love working in natural stones, they are so captivating! I love discovering entire works of art inside of a rock, stories about our place in the universe written by time.
How has your work shifted and evolved over time?
I’ve been trained in several mosaic styles and techniques, some of them traditional, some even ancient. There are a lot of rules when trying to follow a particular style. Since graduating from Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli I took the time to really delve into mosaic making as a practice rather than as a set of guidelines to follow and as a way to express myself. I think I’ve gotten much more free in my approach and I allow myself to work intuitively and sometimes against the canon.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I work in stages. I often like to plan my work. Sometimes I work from a picture reference, or I’d make a sketch. Some days I spend entirely on preparation, sample making and colour mixing. I also have my “cutting days” and that can be very meditative but also physical work.
Each piece of my mosaic is hand cut and shaped using a special hammer and hardie on a wood log, and then glued onto the substrate.
I do not grout my work and I use fuga (the spacing between two elements) as an essential element of my mosaics. Depending on the size, laying a mosaic could take me anything between 2 days and 2 months. I also do a lot of finishing work and framing myself. I only work on one piece at the time.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
I left Poland when I was 18 and since then I’ve lived in several cities in the Netherlands, in London, UK and in a tiny town in Italy. Currently I live in Amsterdam and through my partner I also have a family in Spain. All of those places are my home.
There is this dichotomy between the easiness with which I am able to reach out to anyone, typing on my phone, having followed their “stories” and never meeting them in person and the big divide and isolation I sometimes feel as an expat and “a citizen of the world” living in a foreign country.
I connect the pieces in order to stay grounded and to feel reconnected to myself and to the world around me. My work is not about the brokenness. It’s about all of us – little islands, little fragments floating freely in the universe, yet somehow linked.
My recent series is called “Silence” and it came to life in 2020 during the pandemic and it helped me immensely to deal with uncertainty and to practice letting go of the control.
“Silence” is that point in time and space, where the sharp lines blur, and where the rough and physical becomes fluid and unbroken. I’m fascinated by this moment of flow, where mind and body are in perfect sync. The internal stillness that follows.
How has Instagram impacted your art career?
Although it can be overwhelming, I think Instagram is a great tool to share my art so easily with the world and to get inspired and connected with other makers and artists. I’ve met a lot of wonderful people, collectors and artists this way and these bonds and friendships have proven even more meaningful now, when the interpersonal communication diminished so greatly.
What are your future goals and aspirations?
I can’t wait to host a regular exhibition in a physical gallery! To interact with people and to have an actual chat about mosaic art.
As for a specific project I’d love to make a big-ass mosaic mural that will be visible from afar. Mosaic is meant for large spaces!
Follow Aurora on IG: @aurora_mosaics
Website: www.auroramosaics.com