Break the Rules: 4th Biennial Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Mosaic Art

Presented by Ontario Mosaic Artists

Mehtap Mertdogan, Breaking the Glass Ceiling. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Break the Rules

November 11 – November 29, 2026
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 12, 6 – 8pm
Leslie Grove Gallery, Toronto

Ontario Mosaic Artists (OMA) is excited to present Break the Rules – its 4th biennial juried exhibition of contemporary mosaic art at Leslie Grove Gallery in Toronto.

Today’s mosaic artists are challenging ancient traditions and experimenting with scale, texture, and material, introducing found objects, recycled fragments, and unconventional substances alongside traditional glass and stone. They are reshaping andamento, disrupting the flow to create tension, abstraction, and new rhythms of movement.

Contemporary mosaic art embraces asymmetry and welcomes spontaneity and imperfection into what was once a strictly ordered practice.

Break the Rules celebrates this spirit of reinvention with innovative mosaic art created by 19 artists from across Ontario. OMA invites you to the gallery to experience how their artwork confirms that mosaic art is not a relic of the past, but a living, evolving art form.

In addition to the gallery exhibition, 30 artworks will be available for viewing and for purchase through the Leslie Grove Gallery online gallery. Shop the Gallery

And there’s more!

Once again, Ontario Mosaic Artists will be featuring its hugely successful 5″ x 5″ Mini Mosaics as part of the exhibition. All minis are priced at $99, offering you the opportunity to take home a unique piece of original art at a very affordable price.

MaryLou Hurley, A I Limoges. Photo courtesy of Samantha Hurley.

New to Break the Rules:

We are inviting visitors to the gallery to vote for their favourite mosaic—their Fan Favourite. Generously sponsored by Mosaic Arts Online, the Fan Favourite winner will receive a prize of $125, and two additional Honourable Mentions will receive $75 and $50 prizes.
Each Saturday (November 14 & 21) and Sunday (November 15 & 22), OMA will host a Show & Tell at the gallery from 12 to 5pm. The various tools mosaic artists use will be on hand and we will demonstrate how they work. You will see the variety of substrates and many of the beautiful materials we have available, along with artwork created using different mosaic techniques.
OMA will be hosting Watch Me Work artist demonstrations on Wednesday to Friday afternoons during the exhibition. This is the perfect opportunity to see how-they-do-what-they-do and to chat with the artists as they create new works.

Meet the Artists:

The exhibition features the work of these 19 internationally acclaimed as well as emerging artists from across Ontario, each bringing their unique perspective to this challenging theme. Many of these artists will be in the gallery throughout the exhibition.

Judy Breau, Can’t Take the Credit. Photo courtesy of the artist.

About Ontario Mosaic Artists

Ontario Mosaic Artists’ mission is to promote mosaic as a contemporary fine art form and to showcase the array of materials, styles, techniques, and dimensions used to put a modern spin on the ancient art form. Dedicated to preserving this ancient art form, we challenge its traditional boundaries by creating contemporary mosaics in our own distinctive styles.