Catherine Van Giap
Artwork for Catherine Van Giap
Details
How would you describe the work you do and why?
“Freshwater Mosaics is a contemporary practice centered on light and reflection, using evolving forms to shape how light is held, redirected, and experienced over time.” Freshwater Mosaics is a contemporary practice centered on light and reflection as the core drivers of the work. The practice investigates how reflective materials shape perception as light shifts, fragments, and moves across a surface. The work is informed by the mosaic traditions of Ravenna, particularly their understanding of light as an active presence within material, while remaining rooted in contemporary abstraction. Materials are selected for how they receive, hold, and redirect light. Coloured mirror glass, irridised glass, and gold are selected for their reflective behaviour rather than fixed symbolic roles. Individual series function as focused chapters within this broader enquiry. Themes and motifs emerge, develop, and recede over time as part of the working process. In the current series, Luce Aurea, the dove is used as an abstract expression within contemporary form, serving as one vehicle through which light, balance, and stillness are explored. Other series have engaged different natural forms, including leaves, birds, and fish, each offering a distinct way of working with movement and reflection. Across the practice, structure and irregularity are held in deliberate tension. Precision is balanced with material response, allowing surfaces to retain a sense of vitality and openness. Light and reflection remain the constant, shaping how the work is experienced over time and anchoring an evolving practice that remains materially grounded and visually direct.
For you what does being an artist mean?:
Being an artist has been my way of life for over 20 years
Describe what you call yourself/your practice?:
Freshwater Mosaics by Catherine van Giap Freshwater Mosaics is a contemporary exploration of mosaic art inspired by the luminous works of Ravenna, whose intricate tesserae and use of gold created surfaces that seem to shimmer with life. This series reinterprets those traditions through stained glass, gold leaf, and organic forms exploring the intersection of structured pattern and natural rhythm while engaging viewers in the shifting play of light. In this work, the mosaic is both medium and metaphor. Tesserae, traditionally small, precise fragments, are reimagined as components of a living composition. Each piece of glass or gold is chosen for its colour, texture, and translucency, allowing the work to interact with light in constantly changing ways. The reflective quality of gold tesserae amplifies this effect, creating surfaces that appear to glow from within, echoing the radiant interiors of Byzantine mosaics while responding to contemporary spatial and environmental conditions. Organic forms are central to the series. While mosaics are often associated with rigid geometric grids, I allow the gestures of growth and irregularity to guide the composition. The resulting surfaces occupy a space between control and spontaneity, where geometric order meets organic flow. This dialogue between structure and form mirrors the relationship between human intention and the natural world, offering a contemplative experience that evolves as the viewer moves around the work. The use of stained glass introduces luminosity and depth. Unlike opaque tesserae, glass captures and transmits light, creating subtle variations in tone that shift throughout the day. When combined with gold leaf, this radiance is heightened: light is not only reflected but refracted, creating a sense of movement and inner life within the mosaic surface. Through these works, I aim to renew the mosaic’s ancient dialogue between matter and meaning, bringing its quiet luminosity into contemporary space.
Your practice & activities include e.g workshops, teaching:
I teach weekend; one day, whole weekends or Wednesday afternoon classes from my studio in Ross-on-Wye. Contact me for dates, which happen throughout the year
Exhibitions in the last 3 years:
Exhibitions 2026 Fragments 2 Mosaics and Paintings with Esmee Van Giap Spring gallery Cheltenham Wednesday June 17th to Tuesday June 23rd 2026 Fragments 3 Mosaics and Paintings with Esmee Van Giap The Gate Art Space, 21 Westgate Street, Gloucester 12th till 18th of October 2026
Your gallery outlets/stockists:
Sorrel and Sage at Trumpet corner , Ledbury. Abbey Galleries, Tewkesbury. Abbey Galleries, Pershore. Freshwater Mosaics Gallery open by appointment 41 New Street Ross on Wye HR97DA