Puzzling Tangible Classics

Puzzling Tangible Classics | Renaissance series

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These new artworks in the Tangible series of the Puzzling Classics project shifts from digital, two-dimensional compositions to a three-dimensional mosaic. Using glass paste tiles crafted from photographic fragments of the Basilica of San Marco’s mosaic flooring, (see >> The Rape of Venice Project) it transforms digital imagery into a tactile, physical medium. Gold-painted cotton threads or gold metallic acrylic, fill the gaps unifying the mosaic.

I present a new series of works that mark a significant innovation within the digital art project Puzzling Classics. This creation not only evolves the production technique but also redefines the formal language and concepts that characterize the body of works belonging to the project, inaugurating a new series.

The first piece in this series is a small-scale portrait, inspired by Raffaello’s famous painting “Lady with the Unicorn”. Unlike the previous two-dimensional digital works, in this new production, the hundreds of photographic tiles – which reproduce details of the mosaic flooring of the Basilica of San Marco – are no longer mere images but are transformed into physical glass paste tiles.

These form a tangible mosaic, offering a material and sensory dimension that enriches the aesthetic experience. The most attentive observer cannot fail to perceive the suggestion of a true “transmutation,” a passage from one material to another that mirrors the creative process: photographing fragments of the mosaic flooring, digitally restoring them, cutting the images into virtual tiles, and finally bringing them back to life in the finished work as inlaid marble tiles, perceptible both to the eye and to the touch.

The gaps between the tiles are filled with gold-painted cotton threads, which seem to hold the fragments together and anchor the work in a delicate balance of harmony. Alternatively, I use high viscosity metallic acrylic paint that seems to incorporate and tighten the tiles while at the same time giving gloss and shine to the work.

Digital “tiles” become physical glass paste tiles, bridging virtual and physical realms. The mosaic’s texture invite touch, enhancing visual and tactile engagement.

- Blends historical mosaic techniques with digital innovation.
- Transforms ephemeral digital fragments into enduring physical forms.
- Expands the project into mixed-media, redefining boundaries between digital and tangible art.