The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 49 No 3 November 2010

Technical: Mosa ic
Sophie Verrecchia in her studio
The Artist, the Mosaicist
and the Architect
Sophie Verrecchia shares her passion for painting with tiles
First man built shelters, then houses. Decorating walls with murals followed soon after. From Pompeii's
famous walls to the beautiful water pool designed by Braque at the Maeght Foundation, mosaics have
been chosen by architects to enhance their work.
An architect I have collaborated with, Peter Lonergan (Cracknell Lonergan Architects Pty Ltd), says:
Mosaic work in architecture is one of the greatest public art gestures and also one of the
most persistent. It is rich in colour and texture, can be rich in content and composition, and
is almost always a delight to find. The trick in contemporary architecture is to find a reason,
any reason, to use it and at any scale in any place, and for the artist and architect, a patron
who has the place and the inclination to use it.
Sophie's work is beautiful - it is born out of tradition and experience of the great world of
mosaic works, from the subtlety of Como where mosaic is commonplace to the exuberance
of Gaudi. It is tempered by a design discipline and informed by an understanding of
architecture and the practical realities of architecture and building. Benefiting from practice
and experience, through many years of practice in the trade, Sophie is not daunted by scale,
materials or new ideas. The results are rewarding and the works are a testament to her
vocation.
I have been lucky enough to work in collaboration with several architects and interior designers during
the last few years. Sometimes my work is the centrepiece and we design the room around it, as in the
Northbridge house; at other times my mosaic is a way of decorating an otherwise dull space, giving it a
purpose and a welcoming feeling, as happened in the Bilgola house. I have chosen these two examples
to tell my story.
48 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2010