Art Fair Tokyo 2018
I paid a visit to Art Fair Tokyo, the once-a-year event.
This time, an insider kindly passed me an “AFT Card”—a kind of “VIP card”—which let me attend the “Private View” held the day before the fair opened, one of the card’s perks. Here I’ve put together an account centered on what it was like.
For more on the AFT Card, please see the article below.
Private View
The Private View began about an hour after the media coverage slot (13:00). It started at 14:00 on March 8, 2018.
As the photo below shows, it was hugely popular at opening time! A long line had formed of people waiting to get in.
When the doors opened a little ahead of schedule, the hall filled up in no time. Was everyone dashing off to the works they had their eye on?
I headed to the Seibu Department Store booth to see the work of Yukimasa Ida, a much-watched artist I’ve been keeping an eye on. But—incredibly—his major piece had already sold out and been withdrawn from sale.
And this despite being a monumental No. 150 work priced at 2.3 million yen (before tax). Amazing…
Pulling myself together, I looked around the venue, but red-dot stickers were already conspicuous on other works too.
For example, the following three works by the Barcelona-based artist OKOKUME were also sold out.
They couldn’t have sold in such a short time, so they were probably sold in various ways at a stage before the Private View. At this rate, you’d have to become an exhibitor and take part from the setup stage.
On auction sites, too, they were changing hands at the high prices you see here. 63,000 yen is bubble territory—an abnormally high price.
What I Felt After Attending the Private View
I stayed at the Private View for about two hours. I also stayed from the 11:00 start on the following day, the fair’s opening day. Below are my impressions.
- It gets quite crowded
- There’s a high chance of buying works by popular artists
- However, you can’t necessarily buy the exact work you’re after
- Artists are often present at their booths *because it’s right after the Press View, when the media come in
- Because many industry people attend, the chances of getting to talk with galleries or artists aren’t high
Moe Nakamura’s booth was crowded even at the Private View, but it was peaceful compared with the huge crush on the first day of general admission.
If there’s a popular artist you’re targeting, there’s no doubt your chances of buying their work go up, but for leisurely enjoying the art, I found the general-admission days let me take my time.
That’s all—I hope it serves as a reference going forward.
*Please note that this is purely the author’s personal opinion.
Overview
Art Fair Tokyo 2018
Venue: Tokyo International Forum, Hall E & Lobby Gallery
Tickets: 1-Day Passport (advance 3,000 yen / same-day 3,500 yen)
Dates & Times
Press View
March 8 (Thu) 13:00 〜 14:00
Private View
March 8 (Thu) 14:00 〜 16:00
Vernissage
March 8 (Thu) 16:00 〜 20:00
Public View
March 9 (Fri) 11:00-20:00
March 10 (Sat) 11:00-20:00
March 11 (Sun) 11:00-17:00
