Fresh from her highly acclaimed presentation in “IN GRIMANI” at the 55th Venice Biennale, Ritsue Mishima will feature in a solo exhibition at ShugoArts. Mishima, who resides in Venice, will exhibit 15 works in the new exhibition, including “LAGUNA,” which was displayed in “IN GRIMANI”. Glass that was born in Venice will reflect the flow of time in the waters of Kiyosumi.

Venice is my place of creation, a place of encounters.

Walking its historic streets, I escape the bustling crowds and head through quiet alleys with rhythmic footsteps. The rhythm of my movements and the flickering light from the canals overlap, melting past with future.

Connecting to the creativity within me.

When I first entered Palazzo Grimani I was over awed. It was so exquisite that I could not find space for my ideas to flow. I was not clear what to do.

But after several visits my conversation with the place began. I felt I wanted to link the beauty of this palace from it’s past to our present.

This space, so seemingly sealed within it’s own history I illuminate today with the light of my glass.

Kiyosumi is the place where I present, a town of beginnings.

When I opened the “IN GRIMANI” show, and then returned here, I found myself stopping and acknowledging for the first time this oh-so-familiar Kiyosumi.

The word Kiyosumi seemed so fresh in my mind, setting off visions of a whole new landscape. Once crisscrossed with canals, it is a place where people met and merchandise changed hands.

The flow of the pure water, the light that reflects on its rippled surface, seemed to complete something inside me.

- Ritsue Mishima