This series of mosaic dessert sculptures by Ruth Tyszka includes cake and ice-cream. Each expression starts with this imagery, which is often associated with communal celebrations. In most, the sculptures were carved by hand from polystyrene and reinforced with fiberglass mesh and cement-based products before they were mosaic’d with glass, smalti, and other materials.
all photos here by pd rearick
37” x 15”
Unglazed porcelain tile, artificial capsules on sculpted substrate.
39” x 22”
Mexican and Italian smalti, glass tile, stained glass, on sculpted substrate.
Eye is a modified Italian glass cabachon.
31” X 26”
Mexican, Italian and gold smalti, ceramic, on sculpted substrate.
31” x 26”
Mexican and Italian smalti, unglazed porcelain tile, millefiori, Austrian crystals, repurposed objects on sculpted substrate.
51” x 26”
Mexican and Italian smalti, stained glass, glass tile, Blenko Glass cullet on sculpted substrate.
36” x 12”
Mexican and Italian smalti, millefiori, stained glass, unglazed porcelain tile on sculpted substrate. Commission for ice-cream shop.
19” x 14”
Italian smalti on sculpted substrate.
16” x 12”
Marble, gold smalti on sculpted substrate.
20” x 16”
Italian smalti, glass tile, fused millefiori on sculpted substrate.
27” x 14”
Mexican smalti, vintage Italian cabachons, glass tile, millefiori, porcelain flowers, Austrian crystals on sculpted substrate.
36” x 22”
Glass tile, stained glass, millefiori, ceramic tile, repurposed acrylic, glass and ceramic objects on sculpted substrate.
12” x 10” x 10”
Glass tile, Austrian crystals, millefiori, glass beads, crushed glass, repurposed object on sculpted substrate.
21” x 12”
Mexican and Italian smalti, glass tile, millefiori, handmade tile, Austrian crystals, glass beads, crushed glass, repurposed glass and Limoges objects on sculpted substrate.
23” x 12” x 12”
Italian and gold smalti, glass tile, stained glass, millefiori, stone, coral, Blenko Glass cullet on sculpted substrate.
21” x 12”
Mexican smalti, glass tile, vintage Italian cabachons, millefiori, glass beads, crushed glass, Austrian crystals, on sculpted substrate.
Size Varies (Installation of 7 red mosaic balloons, 20 chairs, one desk).
This piece was born from the artist’s need to attach a visual representation, an image, to the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012, and to the repetition of these events in our country and the inertia that follows each event. The installation lets the viewer experience conflicting objects and messages within a single scene.
photos by pd rearick
11’ X 4’
“Just Listening” is a visual commentary on American ideals within the context of the National Security Agency’s electronic data surveillance and collection programs. Artists Darcel Deneau, Joan Schwartz, and Ruth Tyszka collaborated to deploy art and technology in a sculptural statement about the systematic use of technology to collect information on citizens of the United States and from around the world.
photos by pd rearick
36” X 17” X 8”
This assemblage explores the individuality yet interchangeability of six unnamed masked individuals whose identities are at the same time constructed and deconstructed by their specimen samples. Each participant provided the same five categories of specimens within strict parameters, yet was able to exercise choice over certain elements of these specimens and their presentation. Specimen categories range from DNA to adornment, and represent nature, free will and the influence of environment and circumstance.
photos by pd rearick