HALL OF LIGHT

Mon, 2 DecemberFri, 25 January, 2019

ShugoArts Roppongi

My glass is transparent and colourless.
It captures and releases light and its surrounding colours.

The glass is illuminated by the rays of light, and the feelings of those who view them,
inviting them to venture into another world.

The installation ‘Hall of Light’ made of 22,000 glass beads,
shaped one by one by the hands of Murano craftsmen,
create a cascade of light, a space full of joy and crystalline energy.

In the room behind, there’s a space of relax and encounter,
where people interact with glass and with each other.

Ritsue MISHIMA

About Exhibition

Anyone who has ever visited Venice, where Ritsue Mishima makes her glass works, will certainly recall the radiant sun shining high in the sky and the glittering multicolored light reflected on the surface of the water in the Floating City. There, we are also routinely treated to scenes such as people exchanging pleasant greetings under the beautiful sun. In her work, Mishima gives form to the light of Venice. Since ancient times, light has inspired us to envision entities that are invisible to the eye. The light that Mishima produces is not merely a physical phenomenon, it is also the light we find within our hearts, the ceaselessly brilliant light of memories that extend beyond time, and the light of gratitude and hope offered to sacred things.

In this exhibition, Mishima creates light that pours down from the sky and a place in which light triggers encounters and connections between people. Please take this opportunity to experience these recent developments in the artist’s work as she continues to pursue a cross-disciplinary, genre-spanning approach, which in recent years has come not only to include art, but also architecture, fashion, and design. We hope that you might consider introducing this exhibition in your media outlet.

November 2019, ShugoArts

Ritsue MISHIMA, SPIN, 2019, glass, 53.5×38.5cm

Ritsue MISHIMA, VITA, 2019, glass, 46.5x39cm

Information

Ritsue MISHIMA "HALL OF LIGHT"

Dates

2019.12.7 Sat – 2020.1.25 Sat

Venue

ShugoArts

Hours

11am ‒ 7pm, Closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays

Winter holidays

Sun., December 29, 2019 – Mon., January 6, 2020

Curated by Minako Ishii

Press release

The artist will be present at the gallery on 7 December.

Contact

Ritsue MISHIMA

View Detail

Born in Kyoto, Japan in 1962. Mishima moved to Venice in 1989. Having established a residence in Kyoto in 2011, she lives and works between the two cities. Collaborating with glassmiths on Murano Island, Italy, the artist takes advantage of the translucency and viscosity of Venetian glass in order to create clear glass sculptures, which bear the contours of light while becoming parts of the environments. Since Mishima’s sculptures visualize the energy of the exhibited spaces by absorbing the surrounding air and light, they have received high praise as public artworks as well. Currently the artist is expanding her practice beyond fine art through collaborating with different creative industries such as architecture, fashion and design. Solo exhibition “RITSUE MISHIMA – GLASS WORKS” at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice in 2022, awarded the Fondazione di Venezia award for the best project in the Venice section of The Italian Glass Weeks. The artist also received BVLGARI AVRORA AWARDS 2022.

Selected solo exhibitions: Forms of Light, ShugoArts, Tokyo, 2023; RITSUE MISHIMA ‒ GLASS WORKS, Gallerie dellʼAccademia, Venice, 2022; HALL OF LIGHT, ShugoArts, Tokyo, 2019-2020; In Grimani. Ritsue Mishima Glass Works, Museum of Palazzo Grimani, Venice, 2013; As it should be, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, 2011; Frozen garden / Fruits of fire, Museum Boijmans, Rotterdam, 2010.
Selected group exhibtions: Wonderment Noe Aoki / Ritsue Mishima, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo, 2024; Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition, Culture City of East Asia 2017 Kyoto, Nijo Castle, Kyoto, 2017; Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama Museum of Art, Kanagawa, 2014; the 53rd International Art Exhibition: Venice Biennale, Venice Pavilion, Venice, 2009