charis tsevis tiles mosaic murals at the rio olympics USA house

charis tsevis has realized a series of mosaic murals for the USA house at the rio olympics — home to the team’s athletes throughout the duration of the games. three tiled compositions featuring portraits of competitors adorn the roof gardens of the seven-storey, marble-clad school building on ipanema beach. tsevis’ work pays homage to rio’s public and urban interventions, and its centuries long tradition of portuguese and brazilian ceramic art.

commissioned by citi, tsevis has created portraits of team USA’s star athletes from graphic pieces of patterned tiles. the outdoor wall mural placed on the roof garden spans more than 13 meters long and depicts eight champions from USA’s olympic and paralympic teams. inside, two more compositions show eight athletes in action, decorating the covered wall of the roof garden where athletes can relax and take in views of ipanema beach.