Menu
My name is Enzo Aiello.
I am a mosaic artist, I lived in Rome for 36 years and now I live in Rimini.
Since 1990, when I was apprenticed to the Vatican Mosaic Studio, I have been focused on the creation of new mosaics as well as the restoration of ancient mosaics. I consider myself lucky to have been born in Italy – a place where, according to UNESCO, 50-60% of the world’s artworks reside. This fact makes my country unique in the world and recognizes its inarguable place in the visual arts. I grew up in Calabria, (the southern part of Italy), in Vibo Valentia, a city rich in Roman and Greek archeological sites. There were three moments that led me to pursue the life of an artist, during my last year in high school, I visited the archeological museum in Reggio Calabria where I saw I Bronzi di Riace, the Greek bronze statues recently discovered after they were lost in a shipwreck 2,500 years ago. These statues were probably made by Fidia (Phidias), Shortly thereafter I moved to Rome to study art and painting at the Fine Art College. Later, at the Vatican Museums, I discovered Raffaello (Raphael), and in particular his masterpiece The Transfiguration. And finally, at the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna, I happened to see the painting Il Sole by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, an Italian pointillist. Previously, I had seen this image in art history books, but to see it in person was amazing, stunning. I grew up in an environment so rich in art and culture that I could not escape being affected by the strong tradition of aesthetics, and the refinement and desire for details. In fact, these same philosophies and attitudes stimulated my thoughts, fed my soul, shaped my personality, and brought me to the conclusion that becoming an artist would make me a better man. The weight of history, tradition, and absolute, perfect aesthetics can be very heavy upon the shoulders of a young artist. Living day-to-day amongst the masterpieces of history, one’s eyes can become used to such an esteemed level of expected perfection that a young artist can become frustrated, if not paralyzed, in his attempts to attain that level of perfection in his own work. As a young man, I did not understand that the unspoken expectations of the masters are not obstacles and walls, impossible to scale and overcome, but rather, challenges that would, through time and experience, lead to alternative ways to uniquely express myself without denying my artistic heritage.
A defining aspect of mosaic is its duration over time.
“Truly, of all the endless things once can make with color, none withstand the shock of wind and water as does mosaic.” With these words Giorgio Vasari, a historian from 1500, affirmed the long-lastingness of mosaic. Domenico Ghirlandaio, the painter in whose studio Michelangelo apprenticed, said “The true painting for the ages is mosaic.”This causes me to think that to beautify his buildings or to make permanent those images that express his sentiments, man has looked for materials that would assure certain longevity. The color that comes from a paintbrush is transient, despite all the ways we have found to make it more stable. In Fresco painting, for example, the pigments are laid on wet plaster with a brush so that they may participate in the crystallization of the fresco (plaster), its fate then becomes tied directly to that of the wall and all of the exposure any wall in any environment may face. Mosaic, on the other hand, has always given the impression of stability, of solidity, of everlastingness. Perhaps a synonym for mosaic, then is “duration over time.”In a mosaic, each piece is distinct, yet it only makes sense as a part of a whole; each piece has a unique position, and at the same time contributes to the overall composition. This is a very important concept: the part in relation to the whole, all the many, tiny bits that make up the whole.The Byzantine mosaicists would affix the glass tesserae directly in place, deliberately setting each piece at varying angles with the goal of reflecting as much light as possible. All of these many, tiny pieces, inserted by the mosaicist to create the whole, can now acquire the property of reflecting light. Just as the heavenly bodies in space reflect the sun’s light, the tesserae give the impression of being sources of light themselves. When light hits the tesserae they radiate and reflect it back out so brilliantly that even a dark space can be illuminated.
BFA Bachelor Fine Arts in Visual Arts, Painting, LABA, Accademia di Belle Arti di Rimini
Vatican Studio of Mosaics, Vatican City, Italy.
Trained in the Ancient Methods of Roman Mosaics as well as the methods of the
14 th and 16 th Century micromosaic in smalti filati
Mosaic cutting techniques – hammer and hardy
Mosaic restoration for ancient and modern mosaics
Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli, Spilimbergo, Italy.
Trained in the Ancient Roman Mosaics as well as Byzantine and contemporary
methods of mosaic arts.
Cutting with hammer and hardy
Mosaic designing
Creating mosaic projects
Installation of projects
Budgets for projects
Albe Steiner Studio, Ravenna, Italy.
Trained in Ancient Roman Mosaic and Byzantine mosaic techniques
Restorations
Mosaic project designs
Installation
Portraiture techniques
2021
Contemporary Art Exhibition, ” Il Mosaico, la Pittura e il Mare”. Museo d’arte LIMEN, Vibo Valentia, Italy. November 13- December 5, 2021
2019
Contemporary Art Exhibition, “HUFO-the missing piece”. Open Space Studio, Philadelphia, PA, USA. June 3rd- 14th, 2019
2017
Public Commission: “L’Iniziazione”. 6 X 9 feet mosaic, Franciscan Renewal Center ,Scottsdale , Arizona,USA.
2016
Public Commission: 3 feet X 8 feet which portrays San Frances of Assisi,Our Lady Queen of Angels, Newport Beach, California, USA.
2015
–Contemporary Art Exhibition, “HUFO-the missing piece”. Menexa Gallery, Rome, Italy. March 2015
–Public Commission: 3 feet X 8 feet which portrays Saint Catherine of Siena and San
Frances of Assisi, St. Peter Italian Catholic Church in Los Angeles , California, USA.
-Speaker at SAMA, “How to draw for Traditional or Contemporary Mosaics”
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- USA
2014
Restoration of floor mosaic at the “American Museum of Los Angeles” at the entrance of the
Italian Hall, work dates to 1906.Los Angeles, California,USA.
2011
Private Commission.”Getsemani,” three panels three-dimensional mosaic ,measuring each panel 2,5 feet X 3,5feet .The entire composition measures 3,5 feet X 9,5 feet. Private house,Rancho Palos Verdes, California, USA.
2009
Public Commission – Madonna col Bambino, Mater Ecclesiae, 60 sq feet, for the facade
of the new Catholic Church “St. John and Paul”, Sewickley ,Pennsylvania,USA.
-Restoration of a 300 sq feet of an 18th century mosaic that portrays the landing of
Columbus in America, Private collection, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2008
Public Commission: “Madonna della Stella,” for the church “S, Maria delle Grazie” in Pietrasecca,
Italy.
-Public Commission for 120 square foot floor for the Comunita’ Montana di Delianuova
of a 120 sq. feet floor mosaic the “Garibaldi Museum” in Delianuova, ITALY.
2007
Restoration of a 18 th Century micromosaic gold bracelet, private collection, Greenwich,Connecticut,USA.
-Speaker for multiple conferences:
“Roman mosaic a painting for eternity”
1) Desert Andamento 6th Annual SAMA Conference Mesa, AZ March 21-24
2) St Thomas University, Houston, March 27
3) Natural Science Museum Houston, March 28
4) University of Dallas, March 30, Art Sacred Lesson, Lyle Novinski
5) Andamento and Texture in Roman and Byzantine Mosaics, March 21, 6th Annual
SAMA Conference Mesa, AZ March 21-24
-Commission: Baby Jesus, 10 sq feet, for the “Parrocchia Gesu’ Bambino” in Rome, via
Campi Flegrei. Rome, Italy.
-Taught mosaic workshop on Ancient Roman Mosaic and Byzantine Mosaic art methods
Chicago Mosaic School in Chicago , IL,USA.
-Public Commission: ”Madonna con bambino”, dated 1950, restoration – private
collection, Orlando, Florida,USA
2006
Professor of painting techniques at the Accademia Bella Arti – in Ravenna, ITALY.
-Instructor – on an ancient Roman and Byzantine mosaic art Methods for the Chicago
Mosaic School, Chicago, Illinois,USA
2003
Commission for the artist Luca Buvoli. A tri-color mosaic measuring 300 x 400 cm (10
x 13 ft) for the exhibit “Where Is The Victory?” The exhibit was held at the Autori Cambi
Gallery,Director: Matteo Boetti. Rome, ITALY
-Public Art Commission for the Paninoteca Via Quadronno, New York City. Mosaics
commission for the City of Tokyo ,JAPAN and New York City, USA.
-Private commission for a mosaic floor for a private chapel in Munich, Germany
2002
Restoration for a private collection in Munich, Germany. Restoration of an ancient
portrait done in micromosaic of polychrome marble tesserae not more than 2mm thick of
an antique roman woman. The mosaic measures 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in).
-New York, City Hall Open Competition to set ‘Getsemani,” a three-dimensional mosaic
(200 x 500 cm) that depicts a bleeding rose breaking out from a wall in the World Trade
Center Area. His prototype was exhibited for a year at the Italian Paninoteca VIA
Quadronno, between 73rd and Madison Avenue in New York Upper East Side. The New
Yorkers called it “The Bleeding Rose”
2001
Public Art Commission: Mosaic wall 2 sq. m (20 sq. ft.) of the city emblem of Vibo
Valentia, ITALY.
-Restoration work for the Fortuna Fine Arts Gallery. Restoration of six antique roman
mosaic panels that depict: 1. a saint, 1 x 2 m (45 x 94 in), IV century A.D.; 2. a saint, 90
x 190 cm (35 x 75 in), IV century A.D.; 3. a peacock, 90 x 180 cm (35 x 71 in), III
century A.D.; 4. a fallow deer, 75 x 68 cm (30 x 27 in), III century A.D.; 5. a geometric
floor mosaic, 70 x 90 cm (28 x 35 in), III century A.D.; and 6. a small fragment, III
century A.D.New York City, NY,USA.
2000
Numerous commissions in both the cities of New York City, and Rome, Italy.
1999
Fortuna Fine Arts Gallery, Restorations of six fragile Roman
mosaics – III Century Syria. 30 sq. feet.New York City, NY.
-Public Art Commission: Oculus – Public Art for the New York City Subway.
Collaboration with artists Kristin Jones, Andrew Ginzel, and Rinaldo Piras to design,
create and install the public art.
21 x 33 cm (8-1/4 x 13 in). 301 separate and distinct eyes. Installation at the Chambers
Street Station, New York MTA subway. New York City, NY, USA.
1998
Private Commission – New York City on a commission for a five story, 7,000 sq. ft.
townhouse in the Upper East Side. One mosaic wall measuring 50 x 200 cm (19-1/2 x 78-
3/4 in) portraying the goddess, Venus. The second is a floor mosaic measuring 4 sq. m
(40 sq. ft) for one of the bathrooms with floral ornaments and contains a central scene of
dolphins jumping out of water.New York City, NY, USA.
-Restoration of an antique floor mosaics for Lekythos, Rome, ITALY.
1997
Private Commission: Fulvimari Chapel, 15 sq. m (150 sq. ft.) ceiling
mosaic depicting a starry night.Capitignano(AQ), ITALY.
1996
Private Commission: Designed, created, and installed a mosaic floor (using ancient techniques)
for the Maxy Gym(Via delle Milizie 40) Rome, ITALY.
1995
Public Commission: Collaborating again with Rinaldo Piras,Mosaic depicting ” Antico porto di Traiano” ,7 feet X 21feet
Coast Guard of Fiumicino (Rome), ITALY.
1994 – 1998
Created mosaic art which was sold through the Savelli Gallery in Rome.
1993
Public Commission: Collaboration with the mosaic artist, Rinaldo Piras, to design, create,
and install floors in the commercial stores of Italian fashion company “Replay” , located in Rome, Hong Kong, and New York
1992
Public Art:
Wall mosaic for the entrance of Luna Park – Mirabilandia, Ravenna, Italy – 1000 x 800
cm (800 sq. ft.) at the entrance of LUNA PARK-MIRABILANDIA, Ravenna,
Public Art:
“The Celestial Jerusalem” from the Basilica of San Vitale.
A mosaic fountain mosaic – 30 sq. m. (300 sq. ft.) in piazza Dante, Ravenna, Italy.
1992, 1996
Group exhibition at Athena Arte Gallery, Rome, Italy.
Vincenzo Aiello,
Viale Paolo Mantegazza, 75 47921
Rimini, Italia.
Tel. 338-8513198
E-mail: info@aiellomosaics.com