Department-Store Galleries
Most major department stores have a gallery — or “art corner” — that sells artworks. Separately, these stores also run salons for their most valued customers, doing business behind closed doors. Department stores have a role called gaishō (external sales), assigning a dedicated representative to wealthy clients and actively pitching to them.
Today I slipped into the “PLATINUM SALON” at the Seibu Department Store’s Shibuya branch to see works by Yukimasa Ida.
Yukimasa Ida @ Seibu Shibuya
The Yukimasa Ida exhibition at the Seibu Shibuya “PLATINUM SALON,” held over three days from January 19–21, 2018. Five works were shown in total. As all were for sale, prices were listed in the captions as well.
Seibu Department Store seems to have strong ties with Ida’s alma mater, Tokyo University of the Arts; that day a grand 130th-anniversary exhibition was also underway. At the same time, the “PLATINUM SALON” was showing and selling works by Hiroko Otake (also a Tokyo University of the Arts graduate) — lovely pieces that captivated me as well.
https://youtu.be/DmXScBicCnA
Details
Yukimasa Ida Private Show
Venue: “PLATINUM SALON,” Seibu Department Store, Shibuya
Dates: 2018/01/19–21
