All posts tagged: Mosaic USA

A reunion with Jack Whitten

Published by gertrud

Reunion with Jack Whitten – A retrospective at MoMA, New York A few years ago, I had the opportunity to see Jack Whitten’s works for the first time at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. At the time, it was a real surprise for me to discover his mosaic paintings. I was particularly fascinated by how he integrated the mosaic technique from Greece into his paintings after a stay there. Even back then, I was impressed by his unique method of making the mosaic tiles himself from dried acrylic paint – a creative and elaborate technique that gives his works a special depth and structure. In April 2025, I had the opportunity to experience Whitten’s works again in a comprehensive retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The exhibition gave me new insights into his working methods. It was particularly exciting to learn that his fascination with acrylic paint is partly due to the fact that this medium only emerged in the 1970s – a time in which Whitten worked with it …

…. And a Magic Garden in Philadelphia

Published by gertrud

Visiting friends and relatives in the USA is always a good opportunity to discover with them the mosaic treasures of their place. This time I went to visit my nephew Cornelius in Philadelphia where he is doing a gap year for Action Reconciliation Service for Peace in a social project that cares for immigrants in Camden near Philadelphia. He was happy to tag along a tour of mosaics in Philli. First we visited the “Dream Garden” (see previous blog) and then went on to the “Magic Garden” of this otherwise very urban city centre full of beautiful art deco and newer buildings. https://www.phillymagicgardens.org/about-philadelphias-magic-gardens/themes/ Magic Garden is a life long project of Isaiah Zagar who used the work initially as therapy from a mental break down. The Magic Garden is a project classified under the term “ Art environment”. It’s now a foundation and we could even join a tour of this crazily busy mosaic project. What drew my attention? I am interested in grout lines (the interstices between the mosaic pieces) and how to use …

With my good friend Paloma in Tucson Arizona

Published by gertrud

At the beginning of February 2025, I was able to meet up with my friend Paloma Sanchez at the world-famous gemstone fair in Tucson, Arizona. Paloma is a gemstone dealer and jewelry designer in Beijing, and has been going to this fair for 30 years. So she was able to show me around expertly for two days. On the first day, we wandered through the stalls selling mass-produced goods. Jewelry designers were stocking up for the year. There were mountains of stones on display and it seemed to me as if our entire earth must have been hollowed out for this, so much was on offer. In the afternoon, however, Paloma took me to 3 galleries that exhibit unprocessed mineral collections and art with stones. These galleries are located on Granada Avenue in Tucson/Arizona and are also named as such (Granada Gallery), but are only open during the fair. These so-called specimens are rough and uncut stones, as they occur in nature. I was fascinated by the fact that certain minerals always form the same …