By Louise Irvine

Mosaic portraits of famous female artists and movie stars are showcased in a new pop-up exhibition at WMODA. The Icons of Art collection was created in Italy between 2017 and 2025 as part of the Mosaic Young Talent Competition directed by Guglielmo Zanette in collaboration with artists trained at the Scuola Mosaicisti del Fruili, the oldest mosaic school in Italy. The exhibition continues the strong relationship that has been developing between WMODA and Italian glass artists.

Radiant gold tesserae were created by sandwiching gold leaf between two layers of gold glass and were later used to embellish St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice with intricate biblical scenes. For centuries, knowledge and expertise were passed down on site from master mosaicists to their apprentices. However, in 1922, the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli was established to preserve and advance the art of mosaicists. Today, new generations of mosaicists are pushing the boundaries of this craft, achieving new levels of excellence and technical mastery.

The young mosaic artists continue to use smalti, a type of colored glass, hand-cut into uneven pieces, to create variations in tone and texture, giving traditional mosaics life and exuberance. Venetian smalti has a spectrum of over 4,000 hues, bestowing luminosity and depth. However, under the artistic supervision of Guglielmo Zanette, the young Italian mosaic artists are now combining smalti with unconventional elements, such as plastic, metal, and textiles, to create innovative mosaic portraits of modern world icons. Zanette and his team of emerging mosaicists have redefined the boundaries of mosaic art by pioneering a revolutionary three-dimensional sculptural technique that adds vitality and depth to the faces.

The mosaic portraits in The Icons of Art - Tribute to the Feminine exhibition are offered for sale through the WMODA Studio Collection. Prices on application. All sales benefit the educational programs at WMODA and the work of the Naonis Cultural Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting talented young mosaic artists from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy.

These works form part of the international museum collection “Icons of Art,” curated by Guglielmo Zanette, and have been exhibited in prestigious cultural venues in Italy, Europe and the United States. The Rock Star Collection of mosaic icons is currently enjoying great success at the Cornell Art Museum in Delray Beach.

Watch the video of the Icons of Art Exhibition at the Cornell Art Museum.