by Caldas da Rainha
Situated above a Tattoo Atelier in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, is the gallery Grupius Atelier. The current exhibition Veins of the Invisible: Mika Aono, is an enchanting exhibition of prints, collages, assemblages and fabric work that all come together to transform relatively tight quarters into a uniquely spiritual experience.
Dominating the space is a multimedia collage On the Way (A Caminho) (2025) that hangs from the ceiling, dividing the space on a subtle diagonal axis. By placing it on such an angle Aono opens up the space, increasing the visual flow for visitors to pass through the space. On the way (A Caminho) features numerous printing approaches from highly refined woodblock prints to impressions garnered from municipal manhole covers and other utilitarian street plates that are unique to Portugal. Other areas are more abstract and experimental where Aono burns through the paper with incense, while in one particular area paper is cutaway creating a partially shuttered window effect. Set up in something of a grid, the entire piece echoes back and forth within its own space creating a dialog with both the confines of the roomscape and the viewer’s thoughts.
Aside from Aono’s obvious skill as a printmaker, there are other intriguing approaches here. For instance, in Dear (Minha Querida) (2025), Aono stitches on a found flea market doily made by a local artisan the melodic South African name Lalela she heard a friend mention. The baby blue of the handiwork, the copper nails that hold the doily in place, and the wine and white color of the thread used by the artist for the name all come together to signify human connection through love and admiration. In a statement, Aono writes: “(Lalela is) a word from the Zulu language, and it really touched me. Lalela means to listen—but not “just listen.” It is an invitation to listen intently, with open presence, to allow yourself to be permeated by what is around and within you. In Zulu culture, “lalela” calls for a deep, respectful attention: to listen not only with your ears but with your whole self—with heart, mind, body, and spirit.”
Another example is Trans-it (2025), which appears at the right in the second image above. Here the artist hangs from a preexisting pipe near the ceiling of the gallery a string of tiny lights draped over thick paper discs pierced again with glowing hot incense sticks to make lines and clusters of holes. At play here are the different intensities of light and shadow, and the way this work is both grounded and ascending as it elicits an uplifting mood.
Aesthetically, the art of Aono has many aspects. Take for instance three prints; Mirror Mirror (Espelho, Espelho) (2025), Full of Tears (Cheia de Lágrimas) (2025) and Where To (2025). Through these three examples Aono moves from a very profound connection to mother earth; then to a sixties where a colorfully mesmerizing series of teardrops that loosely encircle six voids in a soft grid suggest motion; to a powerfully rendered, albeit disorderly jumble of moths clustered and casting shadows in a complex mass that reflects controlled chaos through interaction.
Veins of the Invisible: Mika Aono at Grupius Atelier in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, runs through December 4th 2025.