Japan’s first major international art fair, Tokyo Gendai, is pulling out all the stops to ensure the success of its first edition. Last month, the fair announced that it had negotiated with the Japanese government to obtain tax relief for its exhibitors.
Gendai now enjoys “bailed status”, which means that the 10% Goods and Services Tax that foreign dealers must pay on artwork brought into the country is now only charged at the point of sale , rather than in advance, for exhibitors at the fair. . This tax has always created “friction” for international galleries trying to penetrate the Japanese market, explains Magnus Renfrew, co-founder of The Art Assembly group of fairs, which organizes Tokyo Gendai. “If you’re bringing in a high-value booth, putting 10% up front can be a big strain on cash flow. Removing this barrier will be very beneficial in getting dealers to participate,” he says. According to Renfrew, discussions took place between Gendai and the Japan tax office for several months to achieve this result.
Recent revisions to Japanese customs regulations have allowed the introduction of bonded zones to allow for the art trade. Bonded status can also be granted to other fairs, if they “are willing to do the paperwork,” Renfrew says.
Onerous tax structures are one of the reasons why Tokyo, despite its immense wealth and cultural capital, lacks a significant art market compared to other global financial centers. “The art market in Japan is behind where logic dictates it should be,” Renfrew says. He believes Gendai will be a catalyst for an art market boom in the city, adding that the lack of a major international fair has “definitely held things back”.
For the inaugural edition of the fair, 74 galleries will participate – a number that Renfrew expects to see grow in the future as the fair gets established. These include major blue-chip Western dealers such as Sadie Coles HQ, Perrotin and Almine Rech, as well as Japanese and Asia-Pacific galleries such as Tokyo’s Scai The Bathhouse and Fox Jensen & Fox Jensen McCrory, which owns spaces in Sydney and Auckland. Gendai will take place at the sprawling Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center, located in the city of Yokohama, which is part of the Tokyo metropolitan area and is 20 miles southwest of Tokyo proper. The choice of venue was the result of “extensive consultation”, says Renfrew: “There are only three venues in the Tokyo Bay Area of an appropriate size for such an event and Pacifico has the best transport links of these three.”
A convenient location is key, as Gendai organizers hope to use the fair as a springboard for visitors to explore Tokyo’s wide variety of cultural offerings, including its art institutions and shopping galleries. The fair is in talks with a number of city museums to stage blockbuster shows to coincide with the fair, such as the National Art Center’s Cai Guo-Qiang: Ramble in the Cosmos — From the Primordial Fireball (until August 21), although this is likely to be realized more fully in future editions, Renfrew says. Nevertheless, for the VIP guests of the inaugural edition, visits to institutions such as the Mori Art Museum will be offered, as well as art gallery evenings in the lively Roppongi district and the Terrada Art Complex.
Support for the fair has been galvanized by some of the country’s top art collectors who sit on the fair’s advisory board, Renfrew says. These include Yoshiko Mori, wife of late real estate tycoon Minoru Mori, whose father founded the Mori Art Museum, and psychotherapist Ryutaro Takahashi, whose collection of over 2,000 works has been on display. in institutions around the world.
The inaugural program also includes the unveiling of artist Ryuichi Ohira’s new large-scale installation created especially for Tokyo Gendai. The circuit will consist of a large slot car racing track on which an array of objects and sculptures will be placed, some of which reference Tanabata (Star Festival), a traditional Japanese and Chinese festival celebrated every year on July 7, the first day of the fair. Meanwhile, a thematic exhibition in the fair will focus on contemporary women artists in Japan. Organized by Michiko Kasahara, Deputy Director of the Artizon Museum and Yuri Yamada, Curator at the Tokyo Museum of Photographic Art, it will feature works by Leiko Ikemura, Tomoko Yoneda, Ayaka Yamamoto, Kunié Sugiura and Yurie Nagashima.
“Through the special exhibition, commissions, lectures and satellite events, the public will have the chance to experience and interact with some of the most exciting cultures taking place in Japan today,” said Eri Takane. , director of the fair, in a press release. “For our local visitors, it will be the first time in decades that they will be able to enjoy such a magnificent expanse of international art.”
• Tokyo Gendai, Pacifico Yokohama, July 7-9
