Since 1960 Japanese artist Mishima Kimiyo (b. 1932, Osaka, JP) has been preoccupied by the internal digestion of increasing information and the arrival and consequences of the consumer age. Using collage in her paintings early in her career, as of the 1970s she started working with ceramics and incorporated silkscreens of newspapers and flyers on this support. She worked independently of and parallel to the Post WWII Kansai area Gutai group.

First known for her large format oil paintings of the 1960s, she incorporated Ready-made, Art Informel, Op Art and Abstract Expressionism in her work. Early on, she embraced mixing various images and articles from American and European magazines as well as materials whose initial purpose or message is no longer able to be fulfilled yet is now ingrained in our memory or relegated to trash. These include old indigo kimono material, nets and information flyers.

Printed matter (newspapers, magazine) become waste. Past news is dated yet important for our future. By transferring it on a structure such as canvas, ceramic, clay, fiber-reinforced plastic, Mishima makes it a solid part of our environment and conscience.

By creating sculptures of everyday consumer culture, she reminds us of the hazards of wastefulness, overloading information, ecological dangers and the need for reflection. The replicated cans of coffee, soda and beer made of ceramic, placed in a wire mesh basket, reflect our propensity to consume and discard with little attention paid to our health, the environment, short- and long-term effects of our actions. The folded newspaper page replicating the New York Times, presents some glimpses into our culture and interests: politics, music and sports.

Mishima Kimiyo was the recipient of a Rockerfeller Scholarship ACC in 1986, Faenza International Ceramic Exhibition (Gold Medal), 1974, the Yamaguchi Prefecture Prize and the Citizen Prize, 2001, and the Japan Ceramic Society's prestigious Gold Prize in recognition of lifetime achievement in 2021.

She is included in the current exhibition Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan on view at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, US. An upcoming exhibition is scheduled to open in May 2024 at the Nerima Art Museum, Tokyo, JP.
Significant museum exhibitions include the 2023 solo exhibition MISHIMA KIMIYO: Play Watch Create at the Museum of Modern and Ceramic Art, Gifu, JP; Another Energy: Power to Continue Challenging – 16 Women Artists from around the World, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, JP; Institut de Cultura de la Ciutat d’Olot, Olot, ES; CERAMIX, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, NL; La Maison Rouge, Paris, Cité de la Céramique-Sèvres, FR; Ancient to Modern – Japanese Contemporary Ceramics and their Sources, San Antonio Museum of Art, TX; Contemporary Ceramics of Japan, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, US; Contemporary Japanese Art, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva, CH; Contemporary Japanese Ceramic, Itinerant International Exhibition, Japan-Brazil, Art Museum of Sao Paulo, BR; Contemporary Art Museum, Ise, Mie, JP.

Large iconic installations are on view at Benesse Art Site, Naoshima, as well as ART FACTORY Jonanjima, Japan.
Her works are in the permanent collections of the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Queensland, AU; Benesse Art Site, Naoshima; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; The National Museum of Art, Osaka; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, JP; The Korean Culture & Arts Foundation, Seoul, KR; The Museum of Art Olot, Spain; Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Everson Museum of Art, New York; The First National Bank of Chicago; USA as well as numerous other museums and private collections.

Anne Mosseri-Marlio