Jim Bachor

For over 15 years, Chicago artist Jim Bachor has adapted the mosaic—an art form that dates to at least the third millennium BC—and applied it to contemporary American life. Working almost 25 years in advertising helped facilitate this melding of old and new ideas. From junk food to potholes to breakfast cereal, his vibrant work permanently locks into mortar unexpected concepts drawn from the present. Using the same materials, tools, and methods of the craftsmen of antiquity, he creates mosaics that speak of modern things, but in an ancient voice. By harnessing and exploiting the limitations of this indestructible technique, Bachor’s work continually surprises the viewer, while challenging long-held notions of what a mosaic should be.

Jim’s work has been included in juried shows throughout the country and his pothole art project attracted world-wide attention this past summer. His first public art commission “thrive”, a 700+ sqft mosaic, was installed in October at the CTA’s Thorndale Red Line station on the city’s far northside. Most recently Nike commissioned Bachor to install a giant pothole on the first floor of their flagship Niketown store on Michigan Avenue.