At a glance, Xavier Llongueras may appear to be a matinee idol or a brooding artiste. Handsome enough to be an A-list actor, he oozes European charm and savoir-faire, not to mention a mesmerizing French accent. But his spare garments in urban-chic black and his pensive demeanor add to an edgy image.
First impressions, however, are often deceiving, and Llongueras-like his magnificent mosaics, which are being scooped up by producers, movie stars, supermodels, photographers and designers around the country-is a perfect case in point.
Llongueras is an earthy, hands-on sort of guy. He gets down and dirty, in the literal sense, every day, working on alluring mosaic installations and tables in his Los Angeles studio. And despite his monochromatic sartorial tendencies, he loves color. His work is saturated with brilliant hues, deftly wrought into a stunning range of patterns or motifs.
That dark and pensive side also looks a lot lighter after realizing that wherever he is, the artist is constantly absorbing and analyzing the world around him.
“Everything I see is a mosaic-from the sand at a beach to the people and cars in the street,” the 33-year-old Llongueras (yon-GEH-ras) explained during a recent visit to Chicago. His mind is busy deconstructing these forms into bits and pieces, which are tucked away and cataloged in memory until they take shape in one of his works.
Intently scanning the city’s renowned architecture and urban design, Llongueras noted how significant the city sights are to his latest works. “I’m designing some more contemporary pieces right now,” he said, “which is what makes this all so interesting.”
At Lincoln Park Zoo, the pathways made of tumbled stones embedded in concrete and the 66-year-old Kovler Lion House with its “impressive brick work” were as big a draw for Llongueras as the majestic leopards. The big cats, important icons in Etruscan civilization, are favorites of the artist and often can be found in his classically inspired creations.
Llongueras, who was born in the south of France to Catalonian parents, has the sort of impassionated approach to his work that is usually attributed to Old World artisans of a bygone era. No wonder, considering he was born to the trade. His father, Piedro Llongueras, still has a company in the south of France that specializes in tile, masonry and stonework.
“Papa was always teaching me how to mix cement and put down plaster,” said Llongueras, who began working with his father when he was 12. He also learned how to make tiles from his uncle, Albert Marti, who has a tile factory near Barcelona and who owns stores that sell the tiles throughout Spain.
At the same time, his mother, Dolores, a former fashion designer who now teaches dressmaking and design, plied him with art materials and put him and his brother, Christophe, in the hands of professional art instructors.
Though Llongueras completed most of his schooling in France, the family would move back and forth between France and Spain, which may explain the idiosyncratic pronunciation of his name. Xavier is pronounced ZA-vee-ay, the French way, while the double `l’ that starts his surname is pronounced as a `y,’ as in Spain. “I feel very much a part of both cultures,” he says.
And, now, American culture too.
It was one of those vacations you never return home from that brought Llongueras to Los Angeles, the place he has called home for the last 10 years. That, even though he and his family always believed he would take over his father’s business some day.
“After I ran out of money in L.A., I started doing custom tile work,” he says. That’s what he is doing to this day–to the delight of supermodels Tatjana Patitz and Linda Evangelista, actress Kathy Bates, fashion photographer Bruce Weber and hotelier Ian Schrager, all of whom own works by Llongueras.
“People fall hard for his stuff when they walk in the store,” says Grace Tsao-Wu, owner of Tabula Tua, a Lincoln Park tabletop and home furnishings boutique. Like his installations, his mosaic and wrought-iron tables, which are on view there, clearly draw on ancient and contemporary themes. Greco-Roman and Moorish influences mingle to evoke Mediterranean motifs, as do a wide variety of materials. Instead of just marble and stone, as in ancient mosaics, Llongueras also uses granite, pebbles, gold tesserae, glass, porcelain, ceramics and cement.
And when customers fall, they fall swiftly, says Tsao-Wu. Zonda Nellis, a Vancouver fashion designer with an eponymous clothing line, purchased one of his works on the spot when she and her husband/partner David Robinson were in town for a trunk show at a Michigan Avenue boutique.
Seattle physician Ellen Pepper was so bowled over when she saw Llongueras’ work, she ordered a massive table (10 feet-by-4-feet in dimension, close to $8,000 in price) on a recent visit here. “I immediately knew it was just what I needed, since I show my garden and had to replace a tacky plastic table,” she says.
Llongueras says his ultimate goal is to reinvent the form, so to speak. “I want to look at (the art of) mosaic in fresh new ways and come up with a new language for it,” he says. To that end, he is experimenting with black concrete to surround the mosaics, sandblasted glass and terrazzo.
Over the years, his work has become far more layered, complex and, in Llongueras’ mind, much more personal. He has gone from taking direction to creating his own.
He draws on things he sees on his extensive travels or life experiences, sketching ideas on a pad of paper he keeps close at hand. Then he brings them to life in mosaics, sometimes employing myriad materials–ceramics, marble, vitreous glass, granite and stone–often in just a few days.
“If you see one of his works, your assumption is that it has always existed,” says G. Douglas Smith, who gave up a Long Beach design practice to restore and run the trendy Hotel Korakia Pensione in Palm Springs. Llongueras worked on the project, and the two became close friends. “Xavi is a rare and true artist whose inspiration comes from the spirit and soul,” Smith says.
“He draws on his classical background, but he’s wild and creative enough to break through and make it into something new,” says New York designer Jeffrey Cayle, who also has worked with Llongueras. Cayle believes Llongueras is “just coming into his own and maturing. Rather than being trendy, his stuff will last through the decades.”
GOT A VISION? PUT IT IN STONE
Mosaic artists such as Xavier Llongueras are few and far between, which is exactly why Ann Sacks Tile & Stone, a Portland, Ore.-based company with a showroom here and seven others around the country, has launched a custom mosaic program.
“There’s nothing richer than a drawing reinterpreted in mosaic tile, because it’s full of color and texture,” says Ann Sacks, who founded the company based on her addiction to tile. Today, she has her own factory, “right outside my door,” which produces tiles in an unlimited palette and wide range of finishes.
A custom installation–whether a border, wall mural, floor or backsplash–is definitely the way to get “exactly what you want,” says Sacks. But it’s not an easy feat to start from scratch. Selecting an artisan, deciding on the site, determining the design and picking the materials takes work and expertise.
Even The Field Museum of Natuaral History in Chicago didn’t want to execute a mosaic installation entirely on its own.
“They came up with the design,” notes Sacks, “and we competed with tile companies from all over the world to execute it.” Located in the museum store, just off Stanley Hall, the striking medallion, measures 14 feet in diameter and incorporates different animal species and human cultures in its design.
“Custom installations are common in Europe,” notes Sacks, “except they are usually executed entirely in stone.” Those done by the company promise to be more adventurous because “we have a very broad range of raw materials that can be incorporated into designs,” says Sacks.
For those who don’t have specific designs in mind or huge budgets to spend stock motifs are also available. These also can be configured into cost-effective customized designs. Prices begin at $30 per square foot and rise depending on materials and design. Contact the Ann Sacks Tile & Stone showroom, 501 N. Wells St., 312-923-0919.
