Tokyo Gendai art fair opens with 69 galleries from 18 countries and territories

TOKYO – Japan art fair Tokyo Gendai officially opened its second edition on July 5, building on the momentum it started in 2023 when it was hailed as the country’s first truly international art fair in 30 years.

With 69 participating galleries, it is smaller than its Singapore counterpart Art SG’s 114-strong line-up in January.

But it is noteworthy for its strong representation of Japanese artists and the excitement it has generated in Tokyo’s museums and galleries, which put up impressive solo shows of major artists, from American artist Theaster Gates to Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, to mark the occasion.

Held at convention centre Pacifico Yokohama, about a half-hour drive from central Tokyo, Tokyo Gendai is organised by The Art Assembly, which also launched Art SG in 2023 and set up the five-year-old Taipei Dangdai that took place in May.

Collectors were given a preview of Tokyo Gendai, which means contemporary in Japanese, on July 4, and were already beginning to negotiate sales.

The fair, which runs from July 5 to 7 in 2024, has attracted about 10 fewer galleries than its first edition, though it also includes fresh participants such as blue-chip Pace Gallery and French gallery Ceysson & Benetiere, both opening new spaces in Tokyo in 2024.

Co-founder Magnus Renfrew said Tokyo Gendai has seen a “real boost in terms of our international participation” in 2024. A change in tax policy that exempts galleries from paying tax on imported art upfront has been significant – it is the first time an international art fair in Japan has been granted this “bonded status”.

Mr Renfrew said: “This has really led to the opportunity for international galleries to participate in art fairs in Japan at this level for the first time. In the coming years, we are going to see an increasing number of international galleries exploring the art market in Japan and bringing their programmes here.”

Participating galleries in 2024 come from 18 countries and territories, with visitors drawn to Japan as a bucket-list destination, he added. Art SG had nearly twice that at 33 countries and territories, while Taipei Dangdai’s 78 galleries in 2024 hailed from 19 locations.

Significant displays at Tokyo Gendai include five large-scale installations that provide easy reference points for visitors, the most interesting being Japanese artist Yuichiro Tamura’s The Cowboy On The Grass, involving – unusually for an art fair – three bandana-wearing live performers lounging on a green carpet.

They were ostensibly arranged in the manner of Edouard Manet’s then controversial The Luncheon On The Grass (1862-1863), though they made a montage of it, periodically shifting positions throughout the long vernissage day.

Also noteworthy is a group show presented by Spectrum Collective, titled All Things Are Delicately Interconnected, which puts four artists – Jenny Holzer, Miya Ando, Mika Tajima and Sareena Sattapon – in a tete-a-tete.

Of these, Thai artist Sareena’s large-scale metal scaffolding, hung with what looks like recycled bags, but are actually watercolour on paper simulations, had the most presence.

Her work at her representing gallery SAC Gallery’s booth also intrigued crowds. In The Realm Beyond Spectrum featured a mockumentary of an elderly woman, inspired by Sareena’s aunt, visible only from certain angles through refracting vertical panes.

This, as well as sound audible only through headphones, deconstructed the work to make each person’s engagement with it singular, incidentally also reflecting Sareena’s revelation that she had only partial glimpses of who her aunt was.

A few Singapore collectors made the trip to Tokyo for the event, including Ms Linda Neo and Mr Albert Lim of Primz Gallery, and Mr Warren Wee, a curator at Digital Art Week Asia who was there in his personal capacity.

Four galleries with Singapore branches were also at the fair: Mizuma Art Gallery, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, The Columns Gallery and Tang Contemporary Art.

Mr Renfrew said that beyond art retail, art fairs can help reduce the intimidation of engaging with contemporary art. Japan now makes up 1 per cent of the global art market. “One of our key objectives is to help to expand the audience for contemporary art in Japan,” he added.

This article has been edited for clarity.