Tokyo Gendai Sorts Presentations into Seeds, Branches, and Flowers

Blum & Poe, Perrotin, Almine Rech, and Sadie Coles are among the new fair's 79 arboreally arranged exhibitors.

Tokyo Gendai will hold its inaugural edition from 7 to 9 July at the Pacifico Yokohama convention complex. Seventy-nine galleries, including 45 without a permanent presence in Japan, are taking part.

'For local audiences it will be the first time in decades that they are able to interact with such a broad span of the global art world on their own soil', said Fair Director Eri Takane.

Outside the main galleries section—which features galleries including Sadie Coles HQ, Almine Rech, Pearl Lam, Perrotin, Asia Art Centre, Blum & Poe, SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, and ShugoArts—galleries have been sorted into 'flowers', 'branches', and 'seeds'.

The Hana ('flower') section is dedicated to blossoming early and mid-career artists presented by galleries such as The Drawing Room (Manila), Carl Kostyál (London), and MISAKO & ROSEN (Tokyo).

Eda ('branch') features established and historically significant artists, including presentations by Gajah Gallery (Singapore) and Sundaram Tagore (New York). As part of the Eda section, Tokyo gallery Y++ WADA will recreate the studio of late painter Tetsuya Ishida.

Tane ('seed') features galleries showing new media works, including exonemo's 'Metaverse Petshop', which is being shown by NowHere gallery (New York).

Last year, Art Week Tokyo Director Atsuko Ninagawa told Ocula Magazine that 'the international contemporary art fair has historically not been such a successful model for Tokyo'.

However, revised Japanese tax laws around free-ports and import duties, the emergence of a new generation of internationally-minded collectors, and the success of new regional fairs such as Frieze Seoul have given Tokyo Gendai's organisers cause for optimism.

Blum & Poe's Tim Blum, who sits on the fair's exhibitor selection committee, described the fair as 'the beginning of a promising new chapter for the art scene in Japan.'

Art Assembly's Magnus Renfrew, who co-founded Tokyo Gendai, said, 'Japan represents a significant opportunity and we are deeply committed to engaging with the art community who share our vision for the exceptional potential of its art scene.'

Art Assembly's Singapore fair Art SG gathered over 150 exhibitors in January. They recently added Auckland's Aotearoa Art Fair to their portfolio of events across the Asia Pacific. —[O]