Tokyo Gendai 2024 closes its second edition with promising sales.
Yuichiro E. Tamura, installation view of The Cowboy on the Grass, 2024 at KOTARO NUKAGA’s booth in the Sato (Meadow) section. Courtesy of Tokyo Gendai.
The sophomore edition of Tokyo Gendai concluded on a high note this past Sunday, led by a drawing from Robert Longo, which sold for $750,000. Held at PACIFICO Yokohama, the fair saw participation from 69 galleries. This represents a slight decrease from its inaugural edition, which featured 73 galleries. Still, the emerging contemporary art fair, organized by The Art Assembly with SMBC Group, represents a significant step forJapan in returning to a prominent position on the global market.
“Consensus is emerging that Japan has the potential to play a much bigger role in the global art market, and we are honored to be playing an important role in both putting the spotlight on the incredible art scene in Tokyo and connecting Japan to the global art world,” said Magnus Renfrew, co-founder of Tokyo Gendai, in a statement.
Installation view of Nan Ke Gallery’s booth at Tokyo Gendai, 2024. Courtesy of Tokyo Gendai.
This year’s programming, designed to appeal to a diverse audience, featured prices ranging from approximately $3,000 to $750,000. The invited galleries were grouped into three categories: the main galleries sector featuring leading Japanese and international galleries, the Hana (Flower) section for solo or two-person presentations from early and mid-career artists, and the Eda (Branch) section devoted to historical presentations.
The fair attracted a varied audience, comprising private collectors, museum directors, and curators from around the world. Notably, participating galleries placed many of the works with local collectors. “Tokyo Gendai was a super-effective catalyst for bringing together Japan’s most important collectors and curators—giving us an opportunity to convene and celebrate,” said Marc Glimcher, CEO of Pace Gallery, which sold out its solo presentation of Robert Longo’s works to local collections.
Installation view of Takuro Someya Contemporary Art’s booth at Tokyo Gendai, 2024. Courtesy of Tokyo Gendai.
As the fair closed, Tokyo Gendai also announced new dates for its upcoming edition in a new fall time slot. The fair will return to PACIFICO Yokohama from September 12–14, 2025, following Frieze Seoul.
Here, we break down the reported sales at the fair.
- Pace Gallery sold out its solo booth of new drawings by Robert Longo for prices between $90,000–$750,000.
- Sundaram Tagore Gallery sold several works by Hiroshi Senju, including two paintings titled Waterfall on Colors (both 2024), one for $570,000 and the other for $385,000. The gallery sold a third work, Waterfall (2024), for $385,000. Additionally, Miya Ando’s Aotsuki (Blue Moon) Triptych May 2 2024 7:47 PM NYC (2024) sold for $84,000.
- A Lighthouse called Kanata sold six works—two paintings and four sculptures—including Satoru Ozaki’s stainless steel sculpture The Prince (2024) for a price between $150,000 and $200,000.
- BLUM sold a Kenjiro Okazaki work on canvas for $160,000.
- Almine Rech sold a Roby Dwi Antono work for a price between $30,000 and $50,000.
- KETELEER Gallery sold the last available edition of Lois Weinberger’s What Is Beyond Plants Is At One With Them, documenta X (1997) for €30,000 ($32,500).
- Retro Africa sold five works by Nigerian artist Samuel Nnorom for $10,000–$17,000 each.
- HARUKAITO by island sold 25 works by painter BIEN and sculptor Midori Kawano for prices ranging from $3,110–$9,331.
- KOTARO NUKAGA sold 12 works during the fair, including Stain Gentle Words (2024) by Tomokazu Matsuyama.
- Tomio Koyama Gallery sold out its solo booth of works by Xu Ning.
