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Biography

Following a formation in Architecture and Design, Maurizio Fioravanti gravitated towards the world of contemporary art and eventually found himself drawn towards micro mosaics.  As a native Roman, it could be imagined that he has mosaics in his DNA, and it can definitely be said that his journey towards the medium has been an instinctive one. However, finding the usual path of formal micro-mosaic training somewhat stagnant, Maurizio experimented alone with the great 18th Century masters as his guides. The consequence of such a natural approach to the medium has guaranteed a very intimate quality to Vamgard’s creations and the setting of these minutely realistic tableaux within playful surrounds set with precious stones makes each piece feel like witnessing the unconscious projection of someone’s dream. 

 

It is the casual excellence of execution and joyful fantasy of Fioravanti’s micro-mosaics that make them feel like an impudently playful challenge to the masters of the past, one that only an exemplary student can permit themselves. At the very centre of Vamgard’s aesthetic is this surprising marriage of the past and the future. The process of creating the micro mosaics themselves remains as traditionally painstaking as ever, however the stages of novel experimentation begin with the creation of the rods of colour themselves (traditionally glass, stone or enamel) as Maurizio fabricates his own from unexpected materials. These are then arranged as the tesserae of the mosaic by hand and without magnification, as has been done since antiquity. This mosaic is then thrust into the realm of modernity once more as the choice of which material to embed it into, and the form of the jewel itself, is as limitless as the imagination and science can conjure. Maurizio’s process has led to an enchanting dance of alchemy, art and poetry.

 

In breaking the boundaries of the field itself, Maurizio has also broken the boundaries of its appeal, with collectors from a wide spectrum of interests finding themselves drawn to his work. He is above all a master of emotions and manages to ignite with his jewels the same boundless glee we felt when discovering something incredible for the first time as a child with something that has essentially been with humanity for thousands of years. 

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