About Exhibition
ShugoArts is pleased to announce the opening of a two-person exhibition by Morimura Yasumasa and Mishima Ritsue, Where I Am Standing, from October 30, 2021.
This is going to be our first attempt to realize a collaborative project with Morimura Yasumasa, who creates series of photographic self-portraits disguised as figures in art history from around the world and historical figures of the 20th century, and Mishima Ritsue, who utilizes glassblowing to create her artworks on Murano Island in Venice, Italy.
Although their art practices seem to be distinct from each other at first glance, these two artists found the keyword of this exhibition in Morimura’s work in which he disguises himself as Matsumoto Shunsuke’s self-portrait. Titled Where Am I Standing ?, this work features Standing Figure (1942), a masterpiece by Matsumoto Shunsuke who had an ambition to become a painter despite his loss of hearing and fought against the wartime nationalistic art trend.
An artist should place an artistic flag on the ground where he stands and execute his art practice while facing the world. The two artists have explored art phenomena from the places in which they arrived on their own; Morimura has always reconstructed modern and contemporary history focusing on “himself” from Japan while Mishima has explored ways to sculpt light by using glass as an artistic material from Venice. In this chaotic day and age, how and where each and every one of us stands carries more weight.
MORIMURA Yasumasa , Self-Portraits through Art History (Dürer’s Hand Is Another Face), 2016
Chromogenic print, transparent medium, 66x48cm, ed. 10
In this exhibition, Morimura showcases several works from Self-Portraits through Art History series such as Jan van Eyck, Albrecht Dürer, Da Vinci, Caravaggio and Van Gogh, in addition to Matsumoto Shunsuke, while Mishima produces new works dedicated to those figures. When Morimura disguises himself as the subject of his artwork, he does not imitate the existing character like others have done, but creates his original self-portrait utilizing his interpretation and imagination. Just like Morimura’s art practice, Mishima will create her glass gifts while analyzing those figures from her own vantage point, imagining what kind of artworks they would like or what kind of light would illuminate their personalities the most.
This exhibition is a collaboration not only between Morimura and Mishima, but also with artists from the past. Constructed with the world full of layered imagination, this exhibition will provide us with a collaboration of artists beyond time and space. We hope you will enjoy this special exhibition.
September 2021, ShugoArts
MISHIMA Ritsue, ACQUASANTIERA, 2021, glass, 20×42.5cm
Information
Saturday, October 30 – Saturday, December 18, 2021
ShugoArts
12am ‒ 6pm, Closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays
During ART WEEK TOKYO, which will take place for four days from Thursday, November 4 to Sunday, November 7, ShugoArts will be open from 10am to 6pm.
Curated by Minako Ishii
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
Born in 1951 in Osaka, Japan. Morimura currently lives in Osaka. He exhibited his first self-portrait work, Portrait／Van Gogh, in 1985. Since then, he has continued to present “self-portrait photographs in the disguise of something or someone” on a variety of subjects with the consistent theme of “I”. His works are completed by approaching the subjects (people and artworks) from his unique perspective while incorporating meticulous research, self-created dioramas and studio set construction, costumes and makeup, etc. At the same time, he has been involved in a wide range of activities including video, performance, and writing. His major works include Art History series, Actress series, and A Requiem series. Having established M@M (Morimura@Museum) in 2018, where visitors can view Morimura’s documents and self-produced exhibitions, Morimura continues to work both domestically and internationally.
Selected Solo Exhibitions: “My Self-Portraits as a Theater of Labyrinths”, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Higashiyama Cube, Kyoto, 2022; “Jam Session: The Ishibashi Foundation Collection × Morimura Yasumasa A Gift of the Sea, M-Style Morimura Yasumasa’s Auto-Mytholo”, Artizon Museum, Tokyo, 2021; “Yasumasa Morimura: Ego Obscura, Tokyo 2020”, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2020; “YASUMASA MORIMURA: EGO OBSCURA”, Japan Society, New York, 2018; “My Chronicle 1985 – 2018”, ShugoArts, Tokyo, 2018; “Yasumasa Morimura. The history of the self-portrait”, Pushkin Museum, Moscow, 2017; “The Self-Portraits of YASUMASA MORIMURA: My Art, My Story, My History”, National Museum of Art, Osaka, 2016; “Yasumasa Morimura: Theater of the Self”, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, 2014; “Yasumasa Morimura: LAS MENINAS RENACEN DE NOCHE”, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo, 2013; “Yasumasa Morimura: Rembrandt Room Revisited”, Hara Museum, Tokyo, 2013; “A Requiem: Art on Top of the Battlefield”, Travelled to Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; Toyota Municipal Museum of Art; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima; Hyogo Prefecture Museum of Art, Kobe, 2021-2011; “Yasumasa Morimura—Requiem for the XX Century, Twilight of the turbulent Gods”, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa Galleria di Piazza San Marco, Venice, 2007.
Selected Publications: Jigazo-no-yukue, Kobun-sha; Utsukushiitte-nandaro? Bijutsu-no-susume, Riron-sha; Bijutsu-no-kaibogakukogi, Chikuma-gakugei-bunko; Geijyutuka-M-no-dekirumade, Chikuma-syobo.
Selected Public Collections: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Ishikawa, Japan). Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia). Carnegie Museums of Art (Pittsburg, USA). Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (Tokyo, Japan). J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA). Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain). Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan). Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA). The National Museum of Art, Osaka (Osaka, Japan). The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (Kyoto, Japan). Saatchi Gallery (London, UK). San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (San Francisco, USA). Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan). Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, USA).
