Cat Smokes Cigar
A couple of months ago one of my students made a mosaic from sherds he found on the Thames foreshore. His work had striking originality and flair. It wasn’t tidily executed, in fact it was made in a way that almost seemed to re-write the rules that apply in making an effective mosaic. There are very few mosaic artists for whom the energy and power of realisation overrides any considerations of execution – Ilana Shafir is perhaps one. I have always thought of her as an exception. But this young man – his name is Ondřej Vyhnánek — is another.
It is not that the themes he chooses are particularly original – he focuses on faces – often slightly cartoony, graffiti-like — with a note of the surreal or absurd. On the weekend course he made an image of a cat smoking a cigar. It doesn’t sound particularly promising does it? But there is something about the painterly way he uses colour, surface and materials that is really compelling and boundary-breaking.
He wrote this week and sent some images of recent work. He has a full time job, with very little time, space, or opportunity to make mosaic. These constraints mean he is currently working small, but looking forward to returning to the Czech Republic so he can see things through on a grander scale. I am sure this won’t be the last you hear of him.
I heart this work!