MITSU Shoreditch And StolenSpace Bring Contemporary Art Into Frieze Week

This London Frieze Week, MITSU Shoreditch is bringing contemporary art into its dining rooms through a six week collaboration with East London gallery StolenSpace. Running from 7 October to 18 November, the partnership sees a curated selection of works installed across the restaurant’s bar, main dining space and private dining rooms, with each area taking its own visual direction. The selection brings together a number of Japanese artists, reflecting the creative exchange between East London and Japan that has become part of MITSU’s identity.

StolenSpace has built its programme around contemporary artists working across painting, sculpture and graphic-led practices. For this collaboration, the gallery has selected works in response to the architecture and atmosphere of MITSU, allowing the art to become part of each room instead of simply sitting within it. The result is a changing visual experience that moves between colour, portraiture, graphic work and darker, more restrained pieces as guests move through the restaurant.

In the bar, the mood shifts towards something more playful, with works by COOK, Kiseok Kim and Sean Sweeney introducing colour, graphic energy and a pop sensibility. Against MITSU’s dramatic bar, soaring ceilings and industrial materials, the works add to an environment already shaped by DJs, cocktails and late night dining. The combination gives the space a more energetic relationship with the artwork, placing contemporary pieces within a setting designed around movement and social interaction.

Artwork by Shigeki Matsuyama

The main restaurant takes a more considered approach, with Japanese artist Shigeki Matsuyama’s distinctive portraits of faces and bodies occupying the central dining space. Matsuyama’s treatment of the human form creates a different visual rhythm, sitting alongside MITSU’s Japanese influences and carefully considered interiors. In the Private Dining Room, further works by Matsuyama appear alongside pieces by Rowdy, bringing a darker and more pared back visual language to the more intimate setting.

Artwork by Kiseok Kim

Since opening on Willow Street in April 2026, MITSU has developed a programme that extends beyond Japanese food and drink, bringing together music, design and late night culture in Shoreditch. Its events have included the monthly Big Fish Energy brunch series and Toki-O Nights, where DJs meet Japanese food, drinks and a wider community of creative talent. The StolenSpace collaboration continues that approach, giving guests another way to encounter contemporary culture while the city moves through one of its busiest weeks for art.

Artwork by Sean Sweeney

With the works remaining on display for six weeks, the collaboration creates a temporary meeting point between contemporary art, Japanese culture, food and nightlife. For MITSU, it adds another layer to a space that has already positioned itself around cultural exchange, while StolenSpace brings its artists into a setting where the work can be experienced as part of an evening, surrounded by food, music, architecture and the energy of East London.