The exhibition is open to the public:
Thursday and Friday: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM / 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM
For information please contact: +39 345 2364835
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Discover the map here
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In resonance with the atmospheric phenomena of Brunate, a village located a thousand and six hundred foots above Lake Como, Aiko Shimotsuma’s project aims to convey the feelings experienced during her stay in the town, in dialogue with its particular atmospheres. Sleeps the lake is formed by a series of works imagined for the so-called “castello”, an ancient house in the historic center of Brunate reactivated for this occasion.
The first room evokes, through the work Feeling is all, the presence of the fog that often envelops the town and covers its horizons, hiding the lake from the view. During certain days of the year, between autumn and spring, a thick fog rises, lapping the thresholds of Brunate, creating the effect of an underlying sea. Fascinated by this natural blanket, Aiko has created a tactile wall capable of generating curls of smoke with the pressure of a hand.
Visitors are invited to interact with the artworks in both rooms of the exhibition: just as the lake and the atmospheric phenomena are conceived as living and constantly changing subjects, so are the works. Horseshoe is a reproduction of a horseshoe found on the door of the ancient well of the building. Fascinated by the Italian belief of the object as a protective amulet, she decided to recreate it in glass with a very particular gas inside, which reacts to the touch, “calling luck” as tradition dictates.
The vivid colors of the Brunate sky — especially at sunrise and sunset, cherished by the local community — are explored in the final series of works, which pay homage to the hues of the landscape through singular tones and the luminous vibrancy of glass. This lighting not only evokes natural temporality, but also reinforces the installation’s dialogue between elemental forces — light, air, and energy — and the emotional resonance of the place. Together, these elements form a poetic interface between body, landscape, and invisible phenomena.
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Artworks
01. Aiko Shimotsuma, Feeling is all, 2025, interactive and site-specific installation, water, glycerin, Arduino (programming software), smoke machine, fabric, wood, 260 x 400 cmThe work can be touched. The smoke emerges when the visitor comes into contact with the fabric.
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02. Aiko Shimotsuma, Matter is void, 2025, series of 3, glass, gas, transformer, variable dimensions.
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03. Aiko Shimotsuma, Horseshoe, 2025, interactive installation, glass, plasma gas, transformer, variable dimensions.The work can be touched. Electrical charges react to contact with the glass.
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Via Castello 3, Brunate (CO)ㅤ
WANDERING THROUGH THE FOG OF BRUNATE, I BEGAN TO SENSE HOW THE UNSEEN REVEALS ITSELF THROUGH TOUCH AND TENSION. THIS PROJECT EMERGED FROM THAT MOMENT, WHERE PERCEPTION BLURS, AND THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN PRESENCE AND IMAGINATION SOFTENS.
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Aiko Shimotsuma (Japan, 1987) lives and works in Berlin. She holds a degree in Sociology from Japan and studied Sculpture at the Weißensee Academy of Art in Berlin, where she graduated as a Meisterschülerin in 2021. She received a scholarship from the Elsa-Neumann-Stipendium in Berlin for 2022 and 2023. In 2021, she was awarded a grant by the Yoshino Gypsum Art Foundation in Japan, and in 2020, she received a scholarship from the Bernhard Heiliger Foundation in Berlin, which led to the creation of the site-specific installation Horizon I, presented at Kunsthaus Dahlem, Berlin. Active both in Germany and internationally, in 2024 she held a solo exhibition at Panorama in Venice following an artist residency, and is scheduled to participate in several group exhibitions in various countries, including Japan.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Aiko Shimtzuma, Sleeps the lake, Brunate (CO), Lombardia. Ph Andrea Benedetta Bonaschi.
Perched on the hills above Como, Brunate is a charming village known as the "balcony over the Alps" for its breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding peaks.Its history dates back to Roman times, but it was with the construction of the funicular in 1894 that the village became a renowned tourist destination. The funicular remains the preferred means of reaching the city of Como, though more active visitors can follow the hiking trails that link the village to various points in the city. Among these is the trail dedicated to the Milanese poet Alda Merini, lined with signs featuring quotes from poets of different eras, commemorating the time she spent in Brunate.Brunate also serves as a starting point for scenic hiking routes, such as the Strada Regia and the Sentiero Italia, which leads all the way to Bellagio. The village boasts a fascinating architectural heritage in the Art Nouveau style, with elegant villas built between the late 19th and early 20th centuries—testament to its past as a holiday retreat for the Lombard upper class.
Edoardo De Cobelli (Bergamo, Italy, 1992) is a curator and researcher at the University of Milano Bicocca - PhD in Intangible Heritage in Socio-Cultural Innovation and artistic director of Spazio Volta, a cultural center in Bergamo. He was part of the curatorial team of the Rome Quadriennale 2020-2024 and the San Fedele Award. His curatorial practice is part of a broader cultural project that promotes the artistic scene through urban regeneration and community engagement, with a particular focus on sites of historical and cultural interest and on the concept of heritage communities.
For Una Boccata d’Arte he has curated the Lombardia projects of Jacopo Benassi in Gardone Riviera (2023) and Sofia Silva in Palazzo Pignano (2024).