Ritsue Mishima & Alessandro Twombly | Confluence

About

Like the confluence of a river, the exhibition brings together two artists whose differing modes of expression nonetheless have a common point of departure — energy, movement and the natural world around them. This will be the first time the gallery has exhibited a group of Ritsue Mishima’s sculptures and is our second exhibition with Alessandro Twombly, the first being Equinox, a solo show in September 2020. 

Japanese-born Ritsue Mishima settled in Venice in 1989 and since then has been creating glass sculptures from the purest form of glass — Venetian see-through cristallo. Taking advantage of the translucency and viscosity of a medium that doesn’t interrupt the flow of light, and choosing glass because it encompasses all other colours, Mishima expresses herself in a contemporary language through the craftsmanship of the master artisans of Murano, who bring her ideas to life. 

Mishima’s sculptures often follow natural patterns, resembling buds that have grown delicately into their present shapes. Her pieces have many moods, some cascade and ripple like moving water, while others twist and spin furiously like Japanese typhoons. This is glass shaped by the turbulent spirit of the kamikaze - the divine wind - a reminder of perhaps the violent origins of glass in the sudden lighting strike and the boiling volcanic eruption. 

Alessandro Twombly’s exuberant paintings take inspiration from the local flora and fauna of the countryside outside of Rome where he resides. Nature is shifted into a psychological abstraction seemingly reflecting a state of mind through exuberant colours and bold brushstrokes which battle and blend on the canvas. This dynamism is the result of an energetic and varied method of painting, often resting the canvas on the floor and using his bare hands to apply his broad and expressive brushstrokes, while also carefully layering vibrant colours with precision, tone after tone to obtain varying nuances.

On the surface Twombly and Mishima’s practices vary greatly. They come from different traditions, use different materials, one is colourless and the other charged with colour. Yet they are linked by an affinity to the natural world whose energy is harnessed and expressed in their work. Twombly the great colourist, skilfully moving paint around his canvases, searching for a truth in his work, there is no compromise and the impact is immediate. Ritsue’s glass is translucent, harnessing all the colours of its surroundings, shifting and moving with vitality as her sculptures are explored by the light. Having both in the same room and watching this interaction is a dance we look forward to this Autumn! 

Twombly’s works have been exhibited in Rome, London, Zurich, New York and beyond, and are currently in the collections of the Museo Jumex in Mexico and The Glass House (Philip Johnson Foundation) in Connecticut, USA. Mishima has exhibited extensively in Japan, Italy, Belgium and the USA, and her glass works have been the subject of museum shows such as the Museum Boijmans in Rotterdam, Vangi Museum in Japan and Palazzo Grimani in Venice. Mishima’s sculptures can be found in public collections such as the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Museum Boijmans in Rotterdam, the The Ernsting Foundation Alter Hof Herding in Germany, among others.