Right now is a truly exciting time for the Japanese art market – especially for up and coming artists who are looking for a big break at home or abroad. Thanks to more established artists, the whole world is finally taking note of contemporary Japanese art, thereby giving unknown artists a better platform for their work.
Most of this newfound publicity is really down to Takashi Murakami. His ingenuity and business savvy have allowed him to completely revamp the Japanese market in Japan and across the globe. Murakami has said that there no reliable contemporary art market in Japan when he first started out and he has sought to change that so that artists aren’t forced to leave Japan in order to make a name for themselves as he and many others had to do.
Luckily things have changed. Galleries have cropped up all over Tokyo, many looking for cutting edge and new artists. There has also been a recent proliferation of auction houses which host open auctions in Japan. Auctions that are open to the public are essential to the growth of an art market as they help make the market more transparent, meaning buyers will be more willing to invest in the market. More buyers means more chances for new artists to sell their works. And, as Murakami and Yoshimoto Nara’s works command millions of dollars abroad, foreign collectors are also looking for new talent in Japanese art. At the moment, Rei Sato has a solo show in the Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York – her show opened right after a solo show for the more established artist Mr. closed – and Chiho Aoshima is having articles written about her and her work in English-language magazines. Plus, the focus of the Paris Photo fair this year is Japan, with Japanese artists and galleries taking center stage.
And, this year Murakami has brought back not only GEISAI, his one-day massive art fair, but also Museum GEISAI, two great ways for unrepresented artists to show and sell their work (check out the website to find out how to apply for a booth for GEISAI #11 in September: http://www.geisai11.us/). This year also marked the inaugural year for the 101 Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair, which featured quite a few young, local dealers – always a great thing to see at art fairs. Like open auctions, art fairs encourage buyers in a market and the recent spate of art fairs in Tokyo will only grow as the market grows.
It definitely is an exciting time for Japanese artists both at home and abroad. There are so many opportunities opening up for them as the Japanese art market takes on an international aspect. Soon enough, these avant-garde artists will be established both in Japan and around the world.
Most of this newfound publicity is really down to Takashi Murakami. His ingenuity and business savvy have allowed him to completely revamp the Japanese market in Japan and across the globe. Murakami has said that there no reliable contemporary art market in Japan when he first started out and he has sought to change that so that artists aren’t forced to leave Japan in order to make a name for themselves as he and many others had to do.
Luckily things have changed. Galleries have cropped up all over Tokyo, many looking for cutting edge and new artists. There has also been a recent proliferation of auction houses which host open auctions in Japan. Auctions that are open to the public are essential to the growth of an art market as they help make the market more transparent, meaning buyers will be more willing to invest in the market. More buyers means more chances for new artists to sell their works. And, as Murakami and Yoshimoto Nara’s works command millions of dollars abroad, foreign collectors are also looking for new talent in Japanese art. At the moment, Rei Sato has a solo show in the Lehmann Maupin gallery in New York – her show opened right after a solo show for the more established artist Mr. closed – and Chiho Aoshima is having articles written about her and her work in English-language magazines. Plus, the focus of the Paris Photo fair this year is Japan, with Japanese artists and galleries taking center stage.
And, this year Murakami has brought back not only GEISAI, his one-day massive art fair, but also Museum GEISAI, two great ways for unrepresented artists to show and sell their work (check out the website to find out how to apply for a booth for GEISAI #11 in September: http://www.geisai11.us/). This year also marked the inaugural year for the 101 Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair, which featured quite a few young, local dealers – always a great thing to see at art fairs. Like open auctions, art fairs encourage buyers in a market and the recent spate of art fairs in Tokyo will only grow as the market grows.
It definitely is an exciting time for Japanese artists both at home and abroad. There are so many opportunities opening up for them as the Japanese art market takes on an international aspect. Soon enough, these avant-garde artists will be established both in Japan and around the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment