Theoria is the studio of Kiel, a mosaic artist and mixed-media maker based in San Diego. Each piece is built tile by tile, sometimes tens of thousands of them, cut and set by hand until the fragments resolve into a single image.
Kiel works full-time from a custom-built mosaic van, taking commissions and personal projects on the road and at home. The practice grew out of an earlier life in finish carpentry — a background that still shows up in how each piece is planned, cut, and set.
Alongside the mosaic work, Kiel writes philosophy independently, holding a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Literature. That thinking runs underneath the visual work: mosaics are, among other things, a way of asking how many small, broken, particular things can add up to something unified and whole.
For commission inquiries or studio visits, see Connectiva.