Salisbury artist Robert Crum has been commissioned to complete two large mosaic projects in Charlotte. One mosaic will be installed in the floor of a wine cellar and measure 7 1/2 feet by 7 1/2 feet. The second is a mural, 7 feet high and 9 feet long. Both will be installed this fall in a 7-story building in uptown Charlotte in The Trust, located at the corner of Tryon and Fourth streets.
Crum learned to complete large murals when he apprenticed under master fresco artist Ben Long, assisting Long with four of his North Carolina Frescos. He has also studied the art of mosaic with both Italian and American artists and last May traveled to Rome to study in the studio of Vincenzo Aiello.
Crum’s mosaic murals include a 110-foot long mural commissioned by the City of Salisbury.
In late October, he’ll travel to Cuernavaca, Mexico, to work with nine artists to complete a large mosaic project and to study under Italian mosaic artist Giuseppe Semeraro.
In his Charlotte project, Crum is using brightly colored smalti (glass). The floor mosaic, called “Floor Spirit,” features a wine bottle and glasses from which wine flows into swirling colors around the floor. The second mural, in another part of the building, is a brightly colored landscape.