Ivan Ulmann calls himself a “cheating puzzle – maker”. Despite the artist being able to custom – cut the tiny pieces of tiles making up his complex mosaics to make them better fit together – a trick beyond the reach of those who run out of patience in the art of puzzle solving-, this self given label is oversimplified for an artist whose creativity is abundant and who combines the ancient art of mosaic with the contemporary feel pop art like no other.Whether under his own steam or in various artistic collaborations, Ivan produces works of art that celebrate tile art and which are sellable without losing any of their authenticity.The creative hunger of the Swiss artist living in the Algarve since 1995 who currently has his home in Lagos has been with him since his childhood, at which time he was encouraged by his parents to experience the artistic milieu, whether through music, writing or drawing. But it was coming to Portugal, with his parents, just after completing his studies that led to him recovering his creativity, he says. The young man aged 19 at the time began working with his father, who was a builder and carpenter, on projects featuring natural stone, marble and granite, of a public and private nature. From then on, his work began to become more detailed and Ivan started creating mosaics out of marble. All this led him to sculptures, drawing his inspiration from Catalonian architect Antonio Gaudi. “I began by making more classical-style sculptures, with large iron bases, but wasn´t practical for me to work like that,” the artist admits. “Pop art enabled me to use the material and technique I like and to perfect the details due to its extreme colour contrasts.” Thus, inspired by Andy Warhol, Ivan developed one of the most striking characteristics of his work: pop art style mosaic portraits, which almost take on a three dimensional form thanks to the use of the brokenness of the tiles, which he sources from Portuguese company Cinca, based in Santa Maria da Feira.Having exhibited his works all over the country with many successful events, Ivan also created many personalized art pieces for several national and international celebrities.After all there are many pieces to his puzzle and even if he cheats a little, they still have to fit together most perfectly. But it is his slogan that best sums up this work of patience: “Broken Tiles for United Hearts”.