Tristan Hoare is delighted to present Confluence, a dialogue exhibition of glass sculptures by Japanese artist Ritsue Mishima and acrylic paintings by Italian artist Alessandro Twombly.
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.
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!
About the Artists
Ritsue Mishima (b. 1962) is a Japanese-born glass artist working between Venice and Kyoto. Collaborating with glass-smiths on the island of Murano, 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. MishimaŹ¼s sculptures visualise the energy of the exhibited spaces by absorbing the surrounding air and light. Mishima's work is collected internationally and will be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, closing on October 31st.
Alessandro Twombly (b. 1959, Rome) is an Italian-born painter and sculptor whose exuberant paintings reflect his intimate connection to his local surroundings, the countryside outside Rome where he lives and works. Describing this relationship, he says ‘I work with nature like another artist might focus on the nude,’ explaining that he uses nature as a point of departure to move beyond direct representation. Twombly’s works have been exhibited internationally and are part of private and public collections worldwide.
