GENEVA—The life and multi-experiences of Johnny Vrba, 25, a Geneva native, are as deeply layered as his creative original artwork and enormous talent. He was inspired by the Church’s first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, and created an extraordinary three-by-four-foot three-dimensional mosaic of him. It blends details of the saint’s life in an intricate mixed media way that has caught the attention of many people across the globe.
Vrba is an artist, author, speaker, and missionary. He graduated from Arizona State University and has traveled the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic as a student, he was stranded during his semester at sea. He’s lived in Denver, Colorado, and currently resides
in Minnesota.
Earlier this year, Vrba returned to his childhood church, St. Peter Parish, Geneva. He spoke on a cold blistery January evening to over 50 people who didn’t want to miss his presentation and have a chance to see his St. Carlo Acutis mosaic masterpiece up close. His commissioned duplicate copy was with him as his original mosaic currently is on display at the Vatican Youth Center in Rome.
Vrba enthusiastically chronicled his journey on producing this piece of art. He spoke about his trips to Rome and presenting his artwork to the mother of St. Carlo Acutis last year. This is only a small portion and the beginning of the amazing journey Vrba has taken over the past few years.
“It’s so good to be here in Geneva,” Vrba said. “I have fond memories of going to school here during my early years and remember my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Krueger. I am also so excited, too, that my grandparents are here tonight, who are parishioners at St. Peter’s.”
His grandparents, Ron and Joy Presutti, proudly beamed back at him.
The enthusiasm of youth, renewed faith, and admiration for the first millenial saint, Carlo Acutis, bubbles within Vrba.
“What a crazy time to be Catholic,” he said to the crowd. “Can you believe that we have a pope who was raised in Chicago? That Pope Leo XVI, known as Father Bob to many, grew up just miles away from here? And how about Carlo Acutis and what he did?”
Vrba was both inspired and intrigued by Acutis’ life and talents. “I had never heard of him but then I looked on his website, researched his life, and realized he was truly a saint for our times.”
“Carlo was a regular guy, but his faith was on fire, and he was inspired to devote his time to learn coding and create a website documenting Eucharist miracles. Just think about it, Carlo was a regular kid who loved to play soccer and now he’s a saint,” said Vrba.
The intricacies of creating the St. Carlo Acutis mosaic is a testament of Vrba’s labor of love and the building of his own faith.
During a time in the COVID-19 pandemic, Vrba took up the hobby of painting miniature Warhammer (40k) warrior figures. “You build the figures yourself in your own world,” he said.
“I’ve liked to create things since I was a child, and this gave me something else to do and learn.”
He’s purchased thousands of these raw figures and painted them. They are the main characters that bring the Acutis mosiac to life.
In the middle of his talk Vrba removed the cloth covering his St. Carlo Acutis art. The crowd burst into applause in appreciation of his
masterful work.
The Acutis painting is a combination of a custom base painted layer of Acutis’ image. He says to complete it, he went atop a ladder and strategically and precisely glued more that 1,000 toy soldiers and other pieces, like soccer nets, one by one to create the unique and intricate dimensional art.
Each figurine and piece has meaning and tells a story. “When you look straight on the mosaic, you see Carlo’s face, but from the side you see the dimensional figures rising from the base,” said Vrba. “They have to be placed very carefully to create the image.”
Vrba noted that it took close to 500 hours to create the Acutis piece. “It started with an idea, planning and a blueprint. I’d say I did 70% of the work and 30% is doing the work inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
The St. Carlo Acutis mosaic with him that evening is a duplicate he created and presented last year in July to the historic Chicago St. Hedwig Church building in the Bucktown neighborhood of Chicago, which now has become St. Carlo Acutis Parish.
“This was my first commissioned piece,” Vrba said, “and it all came about from a chance meeting in Rome when I met Kelly Legamaro who, along with her husband Robert, are parishioners at the new St. Carlo Acutis Parish. Kelly saw my Acutis art when it was on display in Rome. We connected later, and I was commissioned by them to create a second one for permanent display at their parish.”
Gino Dama, a longtime family friend of Vrba’s parents, transported his mosaic from Chicago to Geneva for the evening’s presentation. “Johnny is amazing and you could see his creativity from the time he was a young boy,” says Dama.
“It’s incredible to see him develop into the great talent that he has today.”
In addition to his St. Carlo Acutis mosaic, Vrba has created other three-dimensional masterpieces as well, including “Jesus Revolution,” and “Water Into Wine,” which is his visual representation of Jesus Christ’s first public miracle at the wedding in Cana, created with wine corks.
Vrba enjoys spending time spreading the joy of his Catholic faith to young
people everywhere.
He currently serves as a Catholic missionary with St. Paul’s Outreach at the University of St. Thomas.
Hear Vrba tell his own story about the St. Carlo Acutis mosaic on his website. Find out more about his faith through art at www.johnnyvrba.com.
