Until January 16, Mishima Kimiyo’s art will be on display for the first time at Sokyo Lisbon. The set of works by the Japanese artist proposes a mature and pertinent reflection on contemporaneity, waste, and consumerism.

Proportionally displayed throughout the venue, most of the works are pieces of applied ceramics, something quintessential in Mishima’s artistic output since the 70s.

The exhibition’s highlight converges organically to the comic books. But pieces like Newspaper or Paper Bags contain an equally high technical mastery, revealing unique thoroughness and realism.

Besides the technical quality of Mishima’s works, the exhibition also presents pictorial and cultural realms. Whether in soda cans or manga books – which thoroughly explore colour, form and energy -, provoking another reading about contemporary habits, and presenting a stimulating but subtle reflection on mass production and excessive consumerism.

The fact that works from different decades are on display is another positive point. Although it is risky to combine works from different ages in such an intimate room, the cohesion has remained unscathed, and Atsumi Fujita’s curatorship is judicious, accurate and intelligent.

Mishima Kimiyo marks the opening of a new gallery in Lisbon. In this first moment, she presents relevant, rich, and consistent Asian visual, plastic and cultural references. Through her ceramics and other works, a visit to Sokyo Lisbon until the beginning of next year will allow a brief but poetic and delicate trip to the Far East.