In the Shadow of Light
All’ombre della luce (In the shadow of light), by maker, Ritsue Mishima, is an homage to the artistic heritage of Maison Perrier- Jouet. It is a poetic installation that continues the celebration of creativity and nature.
Mishima’s creation is an experiential one that invites contemplation and reflection. Her vision of art and nature that parallels harmonious light-and-shadow-play made its debut at Design Miami/2015.
The iconic champagne house of Perrier-Jouet has been rooted in the creative world since its foundation in 1811. It is renowned for its enchanting vineyards from which the most elegant floral wines are masterfully crafted.
Perrier-Jouet’s connoisseurship of art, love of nature and historic ties to the Art Nouveau movement has inspired creative conversation through many original works by renowned artists.
The graceful anemone spray on the jeroboams of Perrier-Jouet represents one such inspired work by master glassmaker and Art Nouveau pioneer, Emile Galle, in 1902.
A century on, Japanese artist, Mishima, transforms Galle’s vision of nature and continues the creative exploration.
She parallels the traditional crafting of champagne with the skillful art of glass-making. An original work of art by Mishima is that of a spectacular blown glass bowl. Its organic form evokes the natural environment of Perrier-Jouet. Its curves playfully portray the bubbles of champagne.
The celebrated anemones of Perrier-Jouet are realized in a stylized pattern on the walls; subliminal evocations of a garden and its omnipresent inspiration.
The anemone is simultaneously reinterpreted within each unique blown glass disc; one of a myriad organic and rippled halos of light that are suspended at different heights from a ceiling that appears to disappear above it all. The ethereal spheres capture and play with the light. The delicate choreography is an ode to the rays of the sun and their reflections on surrounding surfaces.
The two protagonists of the story are indeed light and shadow. The splendor of light that shines life on the Maison Belle Epoque vineyards is matched only with the nurturing half-light of the silent cellars where the creation of champagne magically takes place.
Mishima’s creation echoes the art of blending with the art of glassblowing and, in the shadow of light, it celebrates the beauty of nature through streams of rising bubbles in golden champagne.
“The subtle shade of the wine, the elegant bubbles catching the light, and the delicate anemones winding around the bottle influenced the creative process.” - Ritsue Mishima
All images by Regina Sturrock