Juan Lopez Creates Impact, Community and Joy.
One piece at a time
“With the mosaics, I’m working with many of the same materials and methods I used to tile homes, but in a way that’s totally different. It’s art over architecture. I’m drawing soft forms and random patterns instead of straightening and leveling. Instead of tiling the foothills of Santa Fe via private homes, I’m turning a trash can, which is normally an eyesore, into something beautiful for everyone. I take the broken pieces and put them back together again to create something enjoyable. I’m transforming trash into treasure.” –Juan Lopez
Juan is a mosaic artist. Piece by piece and with great skill, he turns hard fragments of tile and glass into fluid images. Walls and other hard surfaces that he works are transformed by his original designs—often images of the natural world—and become animated, imbued with life.
Technical excellence
For 25 years, Juan owned a small tile and installation business in Santa Fe. Over time, he mastered the art of working with ceramic, glass, marble, limestone, and granite. His broad portfolio includes: tiled rooms at the high-profile Ten Thousand Waves spa, a quartzite-slab pool deck at home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and custom designs for private dwellings throughout northern New Mexico.
Community transformation
Now living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area, Juan is reshaping his craft to manifest his love for mosaic design and community development. His commissioned work includes murals at local schools and public installations. His iconic trash cans in Oakland are urban examples of artistic activism. By making these mundane objects extraordinary with his unique representations of wildlife, he supports neighborhood and community transformation.
Client diversity
City planners and civic leaders appreciate the pride of place his work generates. Developers, contractors, architects, and designers seek Juan’s fusion of artistry and technical excellence in their aim to create memorable spaces. Educators see the impact of his mosaics reflected in their students’ eyes. Residential clients employ Juan to design and install mosaics in their kitchens, bathrooms, and floors.
Juan’s art is created with the skill of a master craftsman, and is a gift to all who encounter it.