Japan’s newest art fair Tokyo Gendai has announced the 79 galleries that will participate in its first edition, which is scheduled to run July 7–9, with a preview day on July 6, at the Pacifico Yokohama.
Though the fair is among the most anticipated new ones launching this year, it is noticeably missing all of the mega-galleries that are traditionally present at the world’s top art fairs (Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner), as well as some blue-chip galleries that have presences in Asia, like Thaddaeus Ropac, Lehmann Maupin, and Gladstone.
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By comparison, a large share of these participated in the first edition of Art SG in Singapore, a long-delayed fair that launched in January and, like Tokyo Gendai, is also operated by Art Assembly.
When Art Assembly announced last June that it would launch a new fair in Japan, its founder, Magnus Renfrew, said the reasoning behind it was “a dynamic moment at present, whereby the art market across Asia is maturing and is reaching a new stage,” adding that “there’s incredible potential to develop audiences beyond where the art fairs currently are.”
Among the blue-chip galleries that will participate are Almine Rech, Blum & Poe, Jack Shainman Gallery, Perrotin, and Sadie Coles HQ. Mizuma Art Gallery, Nanzuka, Taka Ishii Gallery, and Misako & Rosen are among the exhibitors with a presence in Japan. Around 40 percent of the exhibitor list is composed of galleries with a space in the country.
In a statement, Eri Takane, the fair’s director, said, “We were very pleased with the list of galleries both locally and internationally who applied for Tokyo Gendai and I’m excited for us to all be brought together under one roof for the first time in Japan. 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.”
In addition to the exhibitors, the fair also announced that it had received a grant of an unspecified amount from the Japan Tourism Agency that will go toward “a bespoke program of unique experiences highlighting cultural havens around Japan” in an effort “to warmly welcome the global art community and support the development of cultural tourism in various regions of the country.”
In a statement, Koichi Wada, the agency’s commissioner, said, “I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations on organizing the forthcoming Tokyo Gendai here in Japan. Contemporary art is one of our most vital tourism resources. Hosting an international art fair in Japan should prove a catalyst for Japan to attract attention domestically and internationally.”
The full exhibitor list follows below.
Galleries
| Name | Location(s) |
| 313 Art Project | Seoul |
| Almine Rech | Paris, Brussels, London, New York, Shanghai |
| ANOMALY | Tokyo |
| Asia Art Center | Taipei |
| Blum & Poe | Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo |
| Cardi Gallery | Milan, London |
| Ceysson & Bénétière | New York, Koerich, Paris, Lyon, Geneva, Saint-Étienne, Pouzilhac |
| Each Modern | Taipei |
| Fox Jensen & Fox Jensen McCrory | Sydney, Auckland |
| Galerie Du Monde | Hong Kong |
| galerie frank elbaz | Paris |
| Gallery Baton | Seoul |
| GALLERY SIDE 2 | Tokyo |
| Gana Art | Seoul |
| Ingleby Gallery | Edinburgh |
| Jack Bell Gallery | London |
| Jack Shainman Gallery | New York |
| Josh Lilley | London |
| Johyun Gallery | Busan |
| Kaikai Kiki Gallery | Tokyo |
| KENJI TAKI GALLERY | Tokyo, Nagoya |
| KOSAKU KANECHIKA | Tokyo |
| KOTARO NUKAGA | Tokyo |
| MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY | Tokyo |
| MAKI Gallery | Tokyo |
| MISA SHIN GALLERY | Tokyo |
| Mizuma Art Gallery | Tokyo, Singapore |
| NANZUKA | Tokyo |
| nca | nichido contemporary art | Tokyo, Taipei |
| Pearl Lam Galleries | Hong Kong, Shanghai |
| Perrotin | Paris, Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai |
| Polígrafa Obra Gráfica | Barcelona |
| Sadie Coles HQ | London |
| SCAI THE BATHHOUSE | Tokyo |
| SHIBUNKAKU | Kyoto |
| ShugoArts | Tokyo |
| Sies + Höke | Düsseldorf |
| SPURS Gallery | Beijing |
| Taka Ishii Gallery | Tokyo, Hong Kong |
| Tang Contemporary Art | Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Seoul |
| TARO NASU | Tokyo |
| Tomio Koyama Gallery | Tokyo |
| Vito Schnabel Gallery | New York, St. Moritz, Santa Monica |
| Yavuz Gallery | Singapore, Sydney |
Hana
| Name | Location(s) |
| Carl Kostyál | London, Stockholm, Milan |
| Dio Horia | Athens |
| Fitzpatrick Gallery | Paris |
| Galerie Julien Cadet | Paris |
| Gallery COMMON | Tokyo |
| GALLERY TARGET | Tokyo |
| Georg Kargl Fine Arts | Vienna |
| Gratin | New York |
| High Art | Paris |
| KAYOKOYUKI | Tokyo |
| LINSEED | Shanghai |
| MISAKO & ROSEN | Tokyo |
| Over the Influence | Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Paris |
| PARCEL | Tokyo |
| Phillida Reid | London |
| rin art association | Takasaki |
| Soka Art | Taipei, Beijing, Tainan |
| Sokyo Gallery | Kyoto |
| Takuro Someya Contemporary Art | Tokyo |
| The Drawing Room | Manila |
| Ulterior Gallery | New York |
Eda
| Name | Location(s) |
| Art Front Gallery | Tokyo |
| Gajah Gallery | Singapore, Jakarta, Yogyakarta |
| Gallery 38 | Tokyo |
| Hillside Gallery | Tokyo |
| iPreciation | Singapore |
| Kamakura Gallery | Kamakura |
| Lucie Chang Fine Arts | Hong Kong |
| Sundaram Tagore Gallery | New York, Singapore, London |
| The Columns Gallery | Singapore, Seoul |
| Wada Fine Arts Y++ | Tokyo |
| Yoshiaki Inoue Gallery | Osaka |
Tane
| Name | Location(s) |
| Artemis Gallery | Lisbon |
| NowHere | New York |
| The Hole | New York, Los Angeles |