Previewing an Art Auction
Having heard that art auctions were gaining momentum, I headed over to the venue, “Shinwa Art Auction” (Ginza), the day before the auction was held.
I only learned this myself recently, but art auctions hold a “preview” session where you can inspect the works in advance, letting you see the lots up close. And astonishingly, this preview can be viewed completely “free of charge.”
Rather than visiting some odd museum, here you can see a great number of masterpieces up close, with no admission fee at all. What a fantastic deal.
Even if you don’t go to the venue in person, you can browse online. Looking through the catalog on your PC, you get a real sense of the market—”This painting really costs 3000万 yen?!”
Shinwa Art Auction
The venue, “Shinwa Art Auction,” is in an easy-to-find location about a five-minute walk from Shimbashi Station, making it very accessible. Stepping in through the automatic doors, you are met up close by the many paintings that are visible even from outside. There’s no need to present ID or anything at reception; you can enter as casually as walking into a department store or shopping mall.
But once you set foot inside the space, a lineup of distinguished works of art stretches out before you, and the taut, weighty atmosphere makes you straighten your back.
The artist names and work credits list an estimated hammer price (Estimate). The cheapest run about 5万 yen, while the figures at the top climb so endlessly high they’ll make you laugh.
Unlike an ordinary museum, the fact that a real-world “sale price” is listed brings the added pleasure of being able to check a work’s price while enjoying it. Whether the piece is expensive or cheap, you find yourself thinking, “This much for this work?” There were surprisingly many pieces that made me think, “Isn’t this cheap?”—priced within reach of an office worker’s bonus.
The popular Ayako Rokkaku, with an estimate of 300 to 500万 yen. She’s already an incredibly popular artist. If this becomes 1億 a few years from now, I’d be tempted to go into debt just to buy it (lol).
On the other hand, the overall exhibition design—the display order and presentation methods that gallerists and curators wrack their brains over—seemed to have been given no consideration whatsoever; it was simply a space where works by different artists were lined up at random. Here it’s all about one shot, one focus, with everything complete at the level of the individual work.
There were also tables displaying works together, in an arrangement where you put on gloves yourself and pick them up.
A handwritten memo by Tadao Ando, whose solo exhibition at The National Art Center, Tokyo has been well received, was also up for auction.
https://art-on.jp/tadao-ando-challenge/
Yayoi Kusama
The works of the big-name artist “Yayoi Kusama” stood out especially, both in price and in presentation. Her prints were relatively affordable at 60万 to 80万 yen, but perhaps I let my guard down there, because the next work knocked me off my feet.
The work in the photo below is a drawing. A relentless expanse of white painting whitens the entire canvas with a certain regularity.
Looking closely as I drew near, the price read “7000万 to 1億 yen.” What on earth?!
I don’t understand what artistic merit or flavor this work has, but at the very least I couldn’t grasp its value… What kind of person buys this?
Conclusion
The art auction preview turned out to be a wonderfully worthwhile place, offering free encounters with all sorts of artists and works—chances to meet artists I’d never come across, plus the opportunity to view expensive works by famous artists for free.
What’s more, in the shadow of Yayoi Kusama’s 1億-yen work, there were surprisingly some pieces within reach quietly mixed in, and that touch of reality was interesting too. There were several works that made me think, “Hmm, I might actually want this!”—so there was a place set aside even for a lowly art collector like me.
There are several art auction houses besides this one, holding sales on a regular basis. To all you art lovers out there, I’d highly encourage you to visit one at least once.
