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FROM TOP: KATSUHIRO SAIKI; KEI OKANO, AKI SASAMOTO, AND TAKE NINAGAWA, TOKYO
THE LOCAL MARKET
The market for Nihonga, or Japanese-
style paintings, is the strongest
domestically, compared with contem-
p o r a r y a r t , w h i c h e q u a l s t h a t o f
the antiques market in terms of total
volume. Tokyo remains the strongest
art market in Japan, although with
the renewed interest in the Gutai
artists, serious collectors from all
over the world have been coming
t o O s a k a , s p u r r i n g t h e m a r k e t t h e r e.
The Japanese art market remains
quite insulated from the international
one. There is little speculation, and
many collectors buy from passion irst.
Similarly, many of the international
collectors who come to Japan to buy
works have a serious interest in the
country and its history. In that sense,
the market is relatively self-suficient.
That said, overall, I think there is
more depth and variety to the Japanese
market than there was perhaps ive
years ago, with new galleries emerging.
Among artists, I would say that
the disasters of March 2011 and the
controversial policies of Shinzo Abe’s
Liberal Democratic Party (ldp)
government have prompted younger
artists to consider society and politics
in their practice.THE COLLECTORS
I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o g e n e r a l i z e a b o u t
Japanese collectors. The practice is
quite a personal habit in Japan, and
w i t h n o p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l o r c u l t u r a l
incentive to motivate them, collectors
t e n d t o b e i n t e r e s t e d i n s u p p o r t i n g
artists of their generation, or younger
generations, with whom they have
developed personal relationships. In
recent years there have been more
young collectors cropping up. And
there is a small group of major patrons
like Soichiro Fukutake, the man
behind the Benesse Art Site Naoshima.PUBLIC SUPPORT
A few years ago, the government began
t o t a k e a n i n t e r e s t i n e s t a b l i s h i n g a n e w
system to support the contemporary art
scene in Japan through its Agency for
C u l t u r a l A f f a i r s. I t h a s b e e n s u p p o r t i n g
artists participating in international
exhibitions and creating institutional
i n c e n t i v e s f o r c o l l e c t o r s t o b e m o r e
active in patronage. The Japan Founda-
tion is also active in supporting exhibi-
tions overseas, including the Japan
Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. And of
course there are many public museums
i n J a p a n , a l t h o u g h o v e r t h e p a s t d e c a d e
o r s o m a n y h a v e b e e n p r i v a t i z e d , s o
there is less funding coming directly
from the local governments. National
museums have enough funding to
p u r c h a s e a r t , s o t h e y p l a y q u i t e a n
important role in Japan’s art scene. As
for corporate sponsorship of art, thereis far less of it than there was during the
bubble period of the 1980s, although
p l a c e s l i k e t h e S h i s e i d o G a l l e r y
in Tokyo, which has been active for
almost a century, maintain a serious
commitment to the arts and a
high standard of professionalism.READING THE TEA LEAVES
I think several things have happened
that will encourage the development
of Japan’s art market, including the
establishment of a new gallery associa-
tion for Tokyo’s top contemporary
art dealers, the mission of which is to
promote contemporary art in Japanese
society. The government will likely
continue to support the arts and
culture in the run-up to the 2020
Olympics in Tokyo, which might also
encourage further development of
alternative art practices. With the
establishment of Art Basel Hong Kong,
more Japanese collectors have started
going to art fairs overseas. This will
help improve the market in Japan
for younger international artists who
are still relatively unknown here.Atsuko Ninagawa is the owner and director of
Ta ke Ni na gawa gallery i n To k y o. F o u n d e d i n 2 0 0 8 ,
the gallery specializes in contemporary art.Installation view of “Strange Attractors,” featuring works
by Aki Sasamoto, at Take Ninagawa gallery in Tokyo.BLOUINARTINFO.COM | MARCH 2016 ART+AUCTIONJapan