Sheffield artist keeping “rare” craft alive selected for major art fair
“We deserve a little bit more beauty in life”
A man from Sheffield who is keeping a rare form of art alive has been selected for one of Manchester’s biggest craft fairs.
Jan Katewicz, aged 39, of Lower Don Valley, has a passion for marquetry, a type of art that involves applying thin pieces of veneer and wood to a structure's surface to create decorative patterns.
Despite this artform being rare, he takes it a step further and puts his own personal twist on the pieces.
He said: “It is abstract. Marquetry almost always depicts something that already exists, a bird, a flower, a landscape. Abstract contemporary marquetry is rare.
“I get my colour the opposite way round to the traditional. Classical marquetry changes colour by changing the species of wood, I choose the wood for its grain and pattern first, then dye the surface once it's glued down.”
He shared his first artwork in July 2024, and since the start of 2025, he has sold over forty original pieces to collectors in the UK, France, Italy, Riyadh and Doha.
Jan’s work has been selected for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair at Victoria Baths in Manchester, taking place this weekend.
He describes it as “the North’s leading craft fair”.
Jan has been a financial advisor for 14 years and is now moving towards being a full time artist.
Reflecting on his journey, he said this passion all started after he had a bike accident back in 2022.
He shared that when he was younger, he was into extreme sports, and during Covid he found himself “looking for adrenaline”.
He wanted to show his wife, Paulina Katewicz, 35, his biking skills. So they went to a track in Sheffield and unfortunately his front wheel twisted, which caused the bar to go under his ribs resulting in a fractured spleen.
He said: “During that time I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do.”
The following year, he and his wife were renovating their house where he began to experiment with the wood.
He said: “I just simply liked it, I really enjoyed it.
“I started a few small woodwork projects and used really thin slices of wood. It just clicked in my mind, I got 100 different types of veneer online, and looked for information.”
After doing his research, he came across Marquetry and uncovered his true passion.
He said: “Turns out, there’s not many people doing it.”
Marquetry was once listed as “endangered” by the Heritage Crafts organisation, but its current classification is ‘currently viable’, meaning there are enough people practising the skill to be able to pass it onto the next generation.
However, the scale of the pieces Jan creates is quite unusual.
He said: “I work up to 1.7 by 1.2 metres, and I can join panels to go larger than that.
“There’s a technique I call the dance of the wood. The piece changes as the light moves across it, so the surface seems to lift and shift like a 3D sculpture.
“It's why I always tell people to touch the work. Touching it is the only way to prove the surface is completely flat.”
His work will be displayed at the art fair in Manchester, open for the public to see this unusual but incredible artform.
He will also be opening his own exhibition at his studios in Sheffield towards the end of November 2026 at Elementa Laudis, Gordon Works Complex on Valley Road.
Dates include November 27, 28 and 29 and then December 4, 5 and 6.
Jan said: “I would like to make the craft more popular, it’s so rare when you can see something that has had time spent on it. We deserve a little bit more beauty in life.”