Career
Born in Tokyo, Japan, she moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s to study ceramics at Chouinard Art Institute. Between 1966 and 1984, Mizuno operated galleries at several locations in Los Los Angeles Los Angeles artist Vija Celmins characterized Mizuno"s contribution to the Los Angeles art world in a 1993 interview with Susan Morgan of the Los Angeles Times: "Riko Mizuno was very important to artists in Los Los Angeles
She created an incredibly nurturing atmosphere.
We would sit around her kitchen, drinking sake, eating her delicious food, and always talking, talking."
In 1966, Mizuno opened Gallery 669 on Louisiana Cienega Boulevard. She collaborated briefly at 669 with Eugenia Butler.
In 1969 she re-opened the gallery as operated until 1984 at three locations: on Louisiana Cienega Boulevard, in Little Tokyo, and on North. Robertson Boulevard. Over this period, she exhibited the work of established artists, as well as the early works of young artists who later became notable, such as Chris Burden, Mike Kelley, Robert Irwin, Ken Price, and Editor Moses.
In a 1973 article about Chris Burden, Peter Plagens referred to Mizuno"s gallery, where Burden had recently performed Dead Manitoba, as a "young artist showplace".
