At the MAO in Turin, the first Italian solo exhibition by Chiharu Shiota, “The Soul Trembles”
- Redazione
- Oct 15
- 2 min read
For the first time in Italy, the MAO – Museum of Oriental Art in Turin presents the major solo exhibition Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles, dedicated to the internationally acclaimed Japanese artist.
The project is curated by Mami Kataoka, Director of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and creator of the original concept, and by Davide Quadrio, Director of MAO, with curatorial assistance from Anna Musini and Francesca Filisetti.
After being presented at prestigious international institutions such as the Grand Palais in Paris, the Busan Museum of Art, the Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai, the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane and the Shenzhen Art Museum, the exhibition arrives at MAO as an Italian premiere — and for the first time ever in a museum of Asian art — with a project of extraordinary visual and emotional power.
Through drawings, photographs, sculptures, and monumental installations, The Soul Trembles retraces Shiota’s entire artistic journey, revealing the poetic strength of a language that explores memory, identity, and the fragility of existence. Often inspired by personal experiences, her works investigate the intangible — memories, dreams, emotions — transforming them into spaces of collective contemplation where matter intertwines with the invisible.
Among the featured pieces are some of Shiota’s most iconic installations: Where Are We Going? (2017–2019), a metaphor for travel and uncertain futures; Uncertain Journey (2016), where skeletal boat forms entangled in red threads evoke encounters and destinies; In Silence (2008), a burnt piano wrapped in black thread symbolising the silence that follows destruction; Reflection of Space and Time (2018), reflecting on presence and absence; Inside–Outside (2009), exploring the boundaries between public and private; and the monumental Accumulation – Searching for the Destination (2021), composed of hundreds of suspended suitcases — symbols of memory, migration, and personal journeys.
As in all MAO projects, The Soul Trembles is conceived as a living organism, accompanied by a rich public programme of performances, screenings, talks and conferences, along with educational workshops for schools, families, and visitors of all ages.
The Chiharu Shiota exhibition MAO Turin is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue published by Silvana Editoriale, featuring texts by Mami Kataoka and Davide Quadrio, contributions by international scholars, and an extensive visual apparatus.
Starting from 19 November 2025, an unpublished work by the artist, The Moment the Snow Melts, will also be on view at MUDEC in Milan as part of the project The Sense of Snow, curated by Sara Rizzo — an installation that uses the transience of snow as a metaphor for human relationships.
With The Soul Trembles, MAO reaffirms its mission to foster dialogue between East and West, offering Italian audiences an immersive and poetic exploration of the universal language of the soul.
MAO Museo d’Arte Orientale
Date 22 ottobre 2025 – 28 giugno 2026
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