ARTIST EXTRAORDINAIRE DANILO BONAZZA CREATES MAMMOTH MASTERPIECES IN MOSAIC THAT WOW ENTHUSIASTS WITH THEIR SCALE, COMPOSITION, WORKMANSHIP, AND ABILITY TO ENGAGE WITH EVERYDAY LIFE

BY ARCHANA AITHAL ROSE

As a curious five year old growing up in Ravenna, Italy (the mosaic capital of the world), Danilo Bonazza would break his father’s wine bottles into tiny pieces to create shapes of animals and objects in sand. “This habit of mine would often get me in trouble with my father,” laughed the artist. Serendipitously, his habit of playing with glass would turn into a full blown career, making life size creations in mosaic all over the world, from colossal swimming pools in luxury resorts like Italy’s Manzi Hotel to an elaborate installation in Versace’s flagship store in Miami. He’s also transformed pools in private mansions into stunning works of art. “I have no formal art training,” he noted. “I’m entirely self-taught, from sourcing materials to the technicality aspect; my experience comes from observing other skilled professionals.” Bonazza’s boundary pushing designs, radical approach to construction, and use of contemporary materials have often led to clashes with traditional artists. This mosaic maverick uses high end glass tiles and accents his installations with colored epoxy grout that add an unmatched dimensionality to his work. The artist’s meticulous installations can sometimes take up to a year to create, depending on the scale of the project. “The Manzi project was a cluster of pools and saunas that took around one year to complete,” he said. “But the framework is put together in my design studio over a month or two before working on the actual site.” With many prestigious awards under his belt, Bonazza’s hope for his installations is a departure from mosaic’s history of simply adorning churches, cathedrals, and murals. He said: “I’m of the belief that my art pieces should go beyond the scope of just decoration and looking beautiful; they should also be functional. I want them to be interactive; one of the reasons I’d like to dedicate more time to swimming pools, because they serve their purpose as functional art pieces.”

Danilo Bonazza
artsandmosaic.com