The irregularly updated Burart Diary. A diary-style article where the site’s editor jots down bits and pieces of daily life.
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Art Fair Tokyo 2019
At Art Fair Tokyo 2019, I exchanged all sorts of conversations with collectors and gallerists during the event. It revealed another side of Art Fair Tokyo — the way it creates opportunities to meet people involved in art collecting.
Seeing fellow collectors nearby build their collections each in their own way is a huge source of inspiration. Not in a competitive sense, but rather it lets you check where your own collection stands at that moment.
Viewing works in the quiet of a museum or gallery has its charms, but the sport of hunting for pieces that fit your collection amid a crowd of rival collectors is one of the great pleasures of being an art collector, isn’t it? It does eat up a fair bit of energy, though…
At the venue, Tokyo International Forum, the artist who caught my attention was Masato Kobayashi.
I had checked in advance, so I headed straight for the ShugoArts booth without any hesitation.
Works by Masato Kobayashi
I visited the ShugoArts booth early in the day and was able to see works by Masato Kobayashi.
The pieces on display were older works painted more than ten years ago, yet they carried an undiminished presence, as if flaunting their strength without any fading.
I was also shown works that were not on display.
As for Masato Kobayashi, I had been captivated by his personality and worldview in a book he recently published, and my desire to collect his work was reaching a peak.
There was one piece among the above that I really liked, and I told the staff, “Let me think about it,” deciding to sleep on it for a day.
Lately I try not to decide on a purchase on the spot; I hold off until I can picture in my mind where the work will hang after it joins the collection. Unless the image of “displaying it in this spot with this kind of frame…” clicks into place inside me, I don’t give a purchase confirmation.
The next day I steeled myself and got in touch. But — “The piece has already been promised to someone else,” came the reply. With original one-off pieces, every encounter is once-in-a-lifetime. A lesson to take to heart from here on.
There was also a good outcome. I had raised my hand for another work but it went to someone else (in this case too, an overseas collector had signaled interest ahead of me), and I had given up on it. Later, however, the gallery got in touch, and out of generosity they offered to accept a commission piece (at the same price as the sold work).
Having already given up, it was a wonderfully happy turn of events (that gallery, by the way, has an excellent reputation among fellow collectors!).
There was also the classic pattern of checking the preview list and acquiring one older piece.
So including that, my haul this time comes to two works.
Oh, and the commission work will be finished in about three months’ time…
Studio visits
As planned in the action items I set at the start of the year, I’ve been visiting artists’ studios more and more.
An artist’s studio is a place of creation, an almost sacred space.
I had assumed it was a hard place to walk into casually, but perhaps it depends on the artist — so far, everyone has welcomed me in.
The other day, something really lovely happened.
Visiting the studio of a young artist I’ve been supporting recently, I arrived to find the space transformed into a gallery of the artist’s works, with new pieces lined up in a row. I had come alone, so it felt like I had the room entirely to myself — a truly luxurious viewing experience. Standing before what amounted to a private solo show, my spirits soared.
Among the works, one piece caught my eye and would not let go. It was an unannounced new work, but I decided on the spot to take it home…
Being able to view a new piece exclusively in the studio and add it to my collection — that was a first for me.
It’s the kind of experience that makes being a collector worthwhile, a truly rare and precious moment.
Next time I’m likely to head to the Kansai region together with other collectors. I’m looking forward to it.
Connections with fellow collectors
Lately my connections with other collectors have been expanding in various directions, and it’s been an enormous help.
What exactly is so helpful, you ask? Overwhelmingly, it’s “information” related to art collecting.
My fellow collectors are mostly business people active across all sorts of fields.
Like me, they live ordinary lives where the shared vocabulary of collectors doesn’t really apply.
Freed from a daily life where you can’t talk about art collecting, and finding company who share the same interest — the energy explodes, and conversations light up.
Even in a group where ages and genders are all over the map, sharing a common interest builds “a community bound by strong empathy.” From message exchanges to lunches, drinking parties, and studio visits — with gallerists joining in as well — it’s a loosely connected group.
I’ve always thought of the art collector as someone with a solitary hobby. That image hasn’t quite broken for me, but today’s collector network has become a place that offers release from that solitude.
Other odds and ends
Various other things too — I made my debut framing three-dimensional works.
Until now I had always kept them in acrylic boxes, but the flatness of it always bothered me a bit, so I tried framing them with wooden frames chosen to suit each work. I’ll introduce them in a future post.
Oh, and Yukimasa Ida’s solo show in Beijing opened successfully on March 24, 2019, and by all accounts it’s been a huge success!
Sold out right at the opening!
As a collector I couldn’t be happier for him, but there’s also a touch of loneliness as he steadily moves further away…
That’s it for this installment.
See you next time!
Overview
Art Fair Tokyo 2019
Venue: Tokyo International Forum, Hall E
Dates: Thursday, March 7 – Sunday, March 10, 2019 (4 days; last admission 30 minutes before daily close)
Press View: Thursday, March 7, 13:00–14:00
Private View: Thursday, March 7, 14:00–16:00
Vernissage: Thursday, March 7, 16:00–20:00
Public View: Friday, March 8 & Saturday, March 9, 11:00–20:00; Sunday, March 10, 11:00–17:00
Admission: Advance / 1-Day Pass JPY 4,000 (tax included); Same-Day / 1-Day Pass JPY 5,000 (tax included) (elementary-school-age children and younger admitted free when accompanied by an adult)
