/ˈtɛs(ə)rə/ noun, plural tes·ser·ae
a small block of stone, tile, glass, or other material used in the construction of a mosaic

Tessera is mosaic art by Volken de Vlas. Each piece is manually composed of carefully crafted tiles from a range of materials like paintings or vintage art prints.

From a distance, the work reads as a unified image. Up close, individual fragments reveal colour, texture and accumulated visual memory.

Every work is a handcrafted, autonomous, one-of-a-kind work.

Dokkum, 1975
Graduated at School of Fine Arts Minerva, Groningen, 2000

Trained as a painter, I have always had a strong appreciation for craftsmanship, transformation, and the reuse of existing imagery.

Since 2011, I have been developing a new form of mosaic art, in which I cut existing visual materials into very small pieces and use them to “paint” again.

My work can be seen as a form of physical, layered pointillism, where small, pixel-like fragments are carefully assembled into new, often painterly compositions.

I am fascinated by this process of deconstructing and rearranging visual imagery.

I mainly work with vintage reproductions of well-known artworks from art history, as well as experiments in acrylic paint on acid-free board.

Self-portrait as a pirate, 2026. Use of vintage print of Seurat, van Gogh and Macke.

Interested in a work, commission or collaboration?