Ritsue Mishima

Pierre Marie Giraud, Brussels
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2015

Ritsue Mishima first learned of Venetian glass blowing from a stranger at a Venice water bus stop in 1996. Previously a stylist for advertising firms in Kyoto, Japan, Mishima was overwhelmed by the beauty and tradition of Venetian glass. She was particularly moved by glass’s potential for carrying and transforming light. In her practice, Mishima collaborates with artisans of Murano Island, Italy, working solely with colorless glass to create nature-inspired designs. Her work often changes as a result of the glassblowing process, open to evolution and chance. Even in their solid state, Mishima’s glass sculptures appear to freely warp and spill.

Venetian glass is customarily quite colorful and highly regarded for its great transparency. Mishima relies on light to activate her clear glass sculptures. Her designs share an ethereal quality as light meanders through the contours of her forms. The present lot illustrates nature’s influence on Mishima’s work and the beauty of the glassblowing process. Named after a waterfall, the present lot mimics the movement of splashing water and rocky terrain. The glass viscously overflows and erupts from the base while light engages the sculpture in a reflective dance. The intense energy of a rushing waterfall and the fragility of glass is exquisitely paired, capturing a still, concentrated moment in time.