Mosman Landscape Mosaic on board Click to enlarge

Colour Series - Water Mosaic on board Click to enlarge

Dog Path Medallion Mosaic on board Click to enlarge

Forbidden Fruit Series Echo & Narcissus Click to enlarge

Rug Mosaic floor Click to enlarge

Marian Shapiro
Mosaic Artist (Bayview, NSW)

Based on Sydney’s northern beaches, Marian creates hand-crafted original art mosaic in a variety of styles. Originally trained in fine art, and in theatre in the UK, she became fascinated with mosaic in 2000 and has studied mosaic art in Ravenna, Italy; London, Sydney and Auckland.

Shown and collected nationally and internationally, she concentrates on fine art pieces and architectural installations such as floor inserts, walls, borders, splashbacks etc. Much of her work is done on commission, working closely with clients to achieve a unique piece ideally suited for its eventual site. Private commissions have included; art pieces, furniture, garden bowls and architectural installations such as mosaic "rugs" and shower walls. Public and commercial commissions include water features, path medallions and commercial signs.  Commission prices depend on the size and complexity of a piece and the materials chosen. 

Mosaic materials may include marble, vitreous glass, smalti (Italian glass) unglazed ceramics and other materials. All materials are cut by hand and assembled in the workshop, ready for installation or, in the case of art pieces, ready to hang. The mosaic method and materials used will vary as appropriate for the client’s budget, materials used and the eventual location of the piece.  Marian's work is based on her own original designs and is unique, though occasionally she uses an existing piece as a jumping off point for a new project. Her work has been seen in many art shows and has won several prizes. She exhibits regularly in NSW galleries and has created many private, public and commercial commissions, including architectural installations, in Australia, the USA and the UK.

Marian is a professional member of the Mosaic Association of Australia and New Zealand (MAANZ), the Society of American Mosaic Artists and the British Association of Modern Mosaicists .

For more informaiton, contact Marian through the links below or call 0404 850 157 during business hours. Gallery enquiries welcome.                          

Contact Marian Shapiro 
Visit Marian Shapiro's website

COMING EXHIBITIONS
10 - 21 March 2010
Breathing Colours
446 Darling Street
Balmain NSW 2041

Artists Statement:
"Mosaic has existed as an art form for thousands of years. As an artist in the 21st century I am fascinated by the creative tension of using ancient techniques and traditional materials to make modern art. I will happily mix materials such as marble, cut by hand in the traditional manner, with materials not available to the Romans such as shattered safety glass.

What intrigues me personally about mosaics is the texture and variety of the materials and the way they play with light.  After years in the computer industry, I am very attracted by the idea of making something concrete (sometimes literally). I also find the hands-on and low technology aspects of the work very appealing. Chopping.  A first reaction to my work is often to want to touch it, and I am always delighted by this response.
The art pieces are often inspired by the materials and by the contrasts that I can achieve by mixing different textures in the same piece. The roughness of marble against the smoothness of glass. The density of colour in smalti and softness of unglazed ceramics. I am also interested in the play of colour over a large area and they way in which colour itself can lend movement and dimension to an otherwise flat artwork.

Recently I have been experimenting with glass fusing and creating fused glass inserts which I am incorporating in mosaic art pieces and have also bben experiementing with sculptural forms.”

Exhibition History - Australian and International Shows and Galleries

• Invited Artist, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, Cutting Edges: Contemporary Mosaic Art, June 2009
• Society of American Mosaic Artists Exhibition, Museum of Man, San Diego, California, February  - April, 2009  (Juried show)
• Changeable Art, North Sydney Council, March 2009
• Timeless.  Joint exhibition with glass artist Clive Hillier, Breathing Colours, Balmain, November 2008
• Invited to SOFA Chicago 2008 with Raglan Gallery, Manly
• Feature artist, Avant Card’s 3-d project at the Opera House, Oct – November 2008
• Ancient Language, Modern Tradition, Garland, Texas, November 2008
• Contemporary Mosaic Art Exhibition, Ciel Gallery, Charlotte, NC, USA, 2008 (signalled work)
• Hunters Hill 54th annual Art and Craft Exhibition 2008 (commended)
• Into the Blue, Avalon, 2008
• TAP Gallery Darlinghurst, About a Woman, November 2007
• Opening exhibition, New Works Gallery, Canberra, October 2007
• 30th Annual Alice Craft Acquisition,  July 2007
• Art for Goats, Sydney, November 2006, September 2007, September 2008
• Mosaic Association of Australia Annual Show, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005  (2nd Prize 2006, commended 2005)
• Artisans in the Gardens, Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, October/November 2006 and 2009
• Foyer exhibition, Glen Street Theatre, joint exhibition with Christina Macaulay, September 2006
• Royal Easter Show, Sydney, 2006, 2007, 2009  (1st Prize winner and Standard of Excellence award 2006 and 2007.  Highly commended 2009)
• Manly Ocean Care Art Show, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Togetherness:  Manly  Community Centre, December 2005
• Pittwater Cultural Association Annual shows since 2004
• Two Rivers Art show, Gunnedah, NSW, 2005, 2007

Awards include

• Contemporary Mosaic Art Exhibition , Ciel Gallery, Charlotte, NC, USA, 2008 (signalled work)
• Commended – sculpture section, Hunters Hill 54th Art and Craft Exhibition, 2008
• 1st prize Artists and Craftsmen of Pittwater Annual show, 2007
• First prize and Standard of Excellence award, Mosaic section, Royal Easter Show 2006, 2007
• 2nd Prize, Mosaic Association of Australia show, November 2006

Articles and Television
Recently Marian’s work was featured in Mosaic Art Now, an international mosaic magazine featuring a select group of artists from the Mosaic Art CDs.  Her work also appears in the book “Mosaic, Finding your own voice” published in 2008 and she was the feature artist in the Autumn 2008 edition of “Grout”, the magazine of the British Association of Modern Mosaicists.  She is also due to have work featured in two new mosaic books set for publicaiton in 2009.

Articles on her work have appeared in various publications, including Kitchen and Bathroom Style, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Manly Daily.  She is also showcased on the CDs, Mosaic Art 2005, Mosaic Art 2006, 2007, 2008 and on  a segment on the “How-to” television channel running in 2007.  Her work was shown on Better Homes and Gardens on Channel 7 in 2007 and in the accompanying magazine.  She is also featured in My Home, March 2008. 

Teaching
Mosaic classes in various techniques and levels in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney.