Mireille Swinnen hesitantly describes herself as a child of the Spilimbergo style of mosaics. Her hesitation arises because Mireille also sees her work as the culmination of the lessons of many mosaic artists. “I am a sponge when it comes to learning,” Mireille confesses. “I absorb whatever is around me – whether it is languages, mosaic techniques or art styles.” Mireille’s willingness to constantly experiment with new techniques, combined with her ability to apply the things she sees and learns, lends a unique vibrancy to her work. Following her first solo show in Los Angeles, and the selecting of her work Motherhood (2012) in the MAI exhibition, Mireille is becoming increasingly recognized in the contemporary art scene.
Art has always featured prominently in Mireille’s life. From aged ten, she attended art school where she learnt to draw, paint and sculpt. After taking up mosaics in 2001, Mireille’s focus has been to translate these core artistic skills within her mosaic practice. This focus has led her to study with luminary figures such as Carolina Zanotti at Spilimbergo, Antonella Gallenda at Orsoni, and U.K. artist, Emma Biggs. In adopting techniques from a variety of schools, Mireille has developed an idiosyncratic style that is both painterly and expressive.
This painterly effect is evinced in Motherhood, which depicts a mother bird proudly overlooking her young. For Mireille, the work concerns coming to terms with her identity as an “adopted” mother. Foregoing the lines and rhythms usually seen in mosaics, the sculptural shape of the bird’s body is created through an ad hoc mix of pink, brown and green tesserae that resemble an artist’s spontaneous brushstrokes. The young hatchlings are also treated in an unorthodox way. Their form is reduced to a series of open mouths that is conveyed through the irregular placement of pink smalti and a large piece of rose quartz. The demanding mouths of the hatchlings, combined with their mother’s immense pride and fiercely protective stance, speak of qualities familiar to all mothers – sacrifice, responsibility, protectiveness and unconditional love.
Mireille’s painterly style is also seen in her most controversial work to date, Genesis (2011). This portrait of a nude figure sensitively addresses the transsexual issue. From an artist’s perspective, it is also a study in light and shadow. Large pieces of tesserae create a sculptural effect and draw attention to the lightest hues on the model’s stomach and upper legs. In contrast, the model’s genitals are obscured in a mass of dark shadows formed by irregularly shaped smaller pieces of tesserae. Mireille sees a parallel between her model and an artist’s struggle with their (self-proclaimed) artistic identity. As she explains: “The mosaic method, which is a form of deconstructing and reconstructing, is in itself a search for a new identity, of each piece individually and together as a whole.”
Mireille’s desire to learn from others, while also keeping her own vision, has enabled her to develop her own visual “language”. Look carefully at her work and you’ll see the brushstrokes of a painter, the form of a sculptor and the skill of a mosaic artist.
Art has always featured prominently in Mireille’s life. From aged ten, she attended art school where she learnt to draw, paint and sculpt. After taking up mosaics in 2001, Mireille’s focus has been to translate these core artistic skills within her mosaic practice. This focus has led her to study with luminary figures such as Carolina Zanotti at Spilimbergo, Antonella Gallenda at Orsoni, and U.K. artist, Emma Biggs. In adopting techniques from a variety of schools, Mireille has developed an idiosyncratic style that is both painterly and expressive.
This painterly effect is evinced in Motherhood, which depicts a mother bird proudly overlooking her young. For Mireille, the work concerns coming to terms with her identity as an “adopted” mother. Foregoing the lines and rhythms usually seen in mosaics, the sculptural shape of the bird’s body is created through an ad hoc mix of pink, brown and green tesserae that resemble an artist’s spontaneous brushstrokes. The young hatchlings are also treated in an unorthodox way. Their form is reduced to a series of open mouths that is conveyed through the irregular placement of pink smalti and a large piece of rose quartz. The demanding mouths of the hatchlings, combined with their mother’s immense pride and fiercely protective stance, speak of qualities familiar to all mothers – sacrifice, responsibility, protectiveness and unconditional love.
Mireille’s painterly style is also seen in her most controversial work to date, Genesis (2011). This portrait of a nude figure sensitively addresses the transsexual issue. From an artist’s perspective, it is also a study in light and shadow. Large pieces of tesserae create a sculptural effect and draw attention to the lightest hues on the model’s stomach and upper legs. In contrast, the model’s genitals are obscured in a mass of dark shadows formed by irregularly shaped smaller pieces of tesserae. Mireille sees a parallel between her model and an artist’s struggle with their (self-proclaimed) artistic identity. As she explains: “The mosaic method, which is a form of deconstructing and reconstructing, is in itself a search for a new identity, of each piece individually and together as a whole.”
Mireille’s desire to learn from others, while also keeping her own vision, has enabled her to develop her own visual “language”. Look carefully at her work and you’ll see the brushstrokes of a painter, the form of a sculptor and the skill of a mosaic artist.