Take a walk through Brussels and you may spot charming tiles tucked under your feet. Or wander Miami and look out for a striking blue-and-white tile mural on the side of a building, demanding your attention.
The world of tile art takes on myriad forms: There are intricate mosaics made with tiny fragments, massive spray-painted murals, and colorful, beautified potholes.
Keep reading to take a tour of tile art across the world — from a mosaic artist in Belgium replicating children’s drawings to a Spain-based painter who collaborates with volunteers to transform abandoned spaces, one vibrant tile at a time.
Ememem | France
Based in Lyon, France, an anonymous artist known as Ememem has been filling in street and sidewalk divots with striking geometric mosaics — colorful bursts of beauty amid the asphalt.
“He calls himself the bitumender,” a representative for the artist told Nice News, referencing bitumen, a substance used for paving. As soon as Ememem laid the first tile, “he understood he was going to do it again and again, until the end of his life.”
In an interview with the French website Brainto, the artist explained what led him to his unique practice he calls “flacking,” from the French word “flaque,” meaning puddle.
“One day, I patched up the entrance to the driveway at my workshop. An old, dark, blunt alley. I made [it] little colored bandages with ceramic scraps at my disposal. In the next workshop, a huge pothole greeted me every morning. So before wallowing in it, I one day grabbed a trowel and set about making [it] a custom bandage. A high-fashion coat grafted onto the asphalt. The first ‘flack’ was born and Ememem with it,” he wrote, adding, “the idea was therefore to highlight what has been damaged and to make it stronger and more beautiful, to bring it to light.”
Rachel Dein | England
Since 2011, London-based artist Rachel Dein has been making fossil-like botanical art. Casting flowers and foliage onto clay, Dein captures a range of fleeting moments in nature, including magnolias blooming and acorns growing on oak trees. Each piece of art is handmade and highlights the delicate textures and subtle details in nature that are often easy to overlook.
On her website, Dein explains, “Whether in small tiles with a single flower portrait, or large panels that suggest an entire garden full of blooms, my botanical castings reflect my desire to capture the ephemeral.”
Myrsini Alexandridi | Sweden
For Stockholm-based artist and architect Myrsini Alexandridi, tiles are a canvas to “create something extraordinary from the ordinary,” while also connecting with her Greek heritage.
In tiles as small as 13-by-13 centimeters, Alexandridi hand-paints scenes inspired by Greek mythological figures, along with Greek islands, like Mykonos, Hydra, and Naxos. Multiple tiles are often put together to tell a bigger story, but other times a single tile stands alone, brightening shelves, corner nooks, and cozy in-between spaces.
Diogo Machado | Portugal
Diogo Machado, also known as ADD FUEL, reinterprets traditional tile design, integrating classic azulejo colors of white and deep blue into his murals. Some of his creations are delightfully contemporary graffiti, while others capture the Portuguese tradition of patchwork. According to his website, this old-meets-new aesthetic is an expression of dialogue “between heritage and modernity.”
Beyond Portugal, Machado’s work can be seen in the United States (Florida, Kansas, and California), along with the U.K., Belgium, France, Tunisia, and more.
Javier de Riba | Spain
Sharing another unique take on tile art, Barcelona-based artist Javier de Riba paints patterned tile designs directly onto floors, everywhere from sidewalks to abandoned spaces.
In addition to using paint to change “perceptions of these spaces,” the Barcelona-based artist collaborates with volunteers at various projects across the world and explores tile-inspired blanket art, gravel art, and even snow art.
Natalie Blake | United States
Natalie Blake is a Vermont-based artist on a mission to bring “the healing power of nature-inspired art to public spaces.” Blake has a particular love for tile art. She explained on her website: “It is so awesome to make clay tiles. As I move into making public art, I appreciate more and more that my ceramic tile murals can be part of the storytelling. The tactile quality of my carved tiles means that the viewer can appreciate the work through several senses.”
She often uses texture and color to evoke a sense of natural movement in her sculptural wall art tiles. In one of her installations, seen in the video above, Blake created a whimsical, curvy tree out of clay; in another, she used tiles to create soothing art for a health care setting.
Whitney Orville | Belgium
Whitney Orville is a mosaic artist in Belgium creating sentimental replicas of children’s drawings, flowers, and pets. Each tile embodies “little joys scattered in the streets,” as she wrote in a post.
Per This is Colossal, Orville participated in a community project led by another artist (Ingrid Schreyers) to install free, personalized mosaics in a neighborhood outside of Brussels, so residents can stumble upon designs of adorable pandas, dogs, and more.
Jim Bachor | United States
Perhaps best known for his pothole installations (as seen at the top of this article) — some of which add “treats in the streets” — U.S.-based artist Jim Bachor also creates a range of mosaics for lovers of Wordle, ice cream, and cats. “I think it’s fun to possibly brighten someone’s day in the most unexpected way,” he told the New York Post. “You don’t expect to see art on the street, so I want the subject matter to be odd.”
Bachor’s work has been sprinkled in many cities across America, as well as in Finland and Italy. Check out this world map to explore his creations.
Vandeepp Kalra | India
“Like life, mosaic art is a journey of infinite possibilities,” West Bengal-based mosaic artist Vandeepp Kalra writes on her website. “No matter how you plan or conceive the end piece to be, it will always have its own identity and character, full of surprises. And it’s this journey I find most gratifying.”
Working with tiny pieces of tile, the self-taught artist makes clocks, wall art, platters, and more everyday objects that burst with color and creativity.
Ana Foncerrada | Mexico
Ana Foncerrada is an artist from Mexico City who specializes in mosaics, ranging from floral jewelry to massive murals. In addition to creating handmade pieces, Foncerrada also leads workshops with fellow mosaic artist Julie Richey to introduce participants to the beauty of mosaics and harness a community’s creativity to make a mural together.
Sue Fantini | Australia
Wanderlust meets tile art in Sue Fantini’s studio. The avid traveler makes colorful, handmade tiles inspired by destinations — including Morocco, Mexico, and her home of Australia.
On her website, she writes that her art traces memories of “cobblestone streets and crowded markets, colorful handmade textiles, noisy tuk tuks and ceremonies with offerings of flowers and fruit.”
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