Whitestone Gallery is honoured to present “Mizù in Taipei”, the first solo exhibition of works by Japanese artist Tetsuo Mizù. Opening on 12 October and view through 1 December 2019, the exhibition will display his works since the 1990s. The opening reception will be held on 12 October, from 4 pm.

Mizù is widely celebrated for his visually captivating abstraction that brings together the geometrical shapes and layered of primary colour. As a young artist, Mizù studied at the Musashino Art School and joined the Free Art Association in Tokyo, where he began developing his unique style of post-Gutai aesthetics and modernism that was distinct from the traditional Japanese paintings. Mizù’s paintings are richly coloured, precise compositions that its rational structure is composed of intuitive texture and dramatic brushstroke. A mysterious yet poetic language has been created through a combination of the shapes, colours, and patterns inspired by the maritime signal flag. Decoding the meaning of words, Mizù speaks of his internal states and consciousness through pure colours and compositions. Cultural differences have then been transcended, reaching to an ideal harmonic utopia.

“Mizù in Taipei” introduces over 50 works by Mizù that spot on his works created from 1990 to 2019, including oil on canvas, work on paper, as well as wood installation. The square canvas, SAMBA, is formed by five flags and three colours. Samba, a Portuguese word, meaning a genre of rhythmic dance music in Brazil, resonates with the enthusiastic and energetic red perfectly. As for Untitled, this portrait has shown traces of both European and Eastern Asian styles. His use of thin lines to depict female figure has not only indicate the influence of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani and Japanese artist Tsuguharu Foujita, but also create a similar texture of the western painting.
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Tetsuo Mizù was born in 1944 in Tokyo. Mizù graduated from Musashino Art School in 1973. He then moved to Europe and lived in various cities, including Rome and Paris. His works had been exhibited in Japan and across the world, such as National Maritime Museum, Rotterdam (1997); Palais de Chaillot and National Marine Museum, Paris (1994); “Chagall, Dali, Picasso, Melois, and Mizù” at B.I.A.F. Art Inter AG, Barcelona (1989). He also held solo exhibitions in Belgium, Germany and Hong Kong.

Mizù’s works reside in the permanent collections of St. Anne’s Church, Rome; Saint-Jean-d’Angély, Charente-Maritime; Olympic Winter Games, Nagano; Boat Race Toda, Toda; Otaki Herb Garden Hotel, Chiba; as well as Karuizawa New Art Museum, Karuizawa. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the Special Prize at the First Representation Art Concours in Anzio (1987) and Free Art Award (1973). He lives and works in Chiba, Japan.