While in Japan, I visited a lot of contemporary galleries in Tokyo such as the Mori Arts Center, National Art Center, Koyanagi Gallery in Ginza and a commercial gallery complex housed in an industrial warehouse in Kiyosumi.
While in Osaka, I visited the Osaka Art fair, held in the top 4 stories of the Dojima Hotel. Each hotel room had a designated gallery which hosted solo or group shows of their artists. This was a fascinating and informative experience, especially being so close to the upcoming Melbourne Art Fair. It will be an interesting comparison!
Photography is alive and well in Japan, as you can imagine, and a few things were interesting to note. Of the many photographic artists I saw, all but one presented their work for exhibition as C-Type prints. The only exception was Hintobi- an art duo, (Issay Kitagawa & Kenshu Shintsubo), who printed to canvas in combination with mixed media, which was then stretched. Presentation ranged from pinning and traditional framing to Dibond mounting. Highlights were Lieko Shiga at the Mori Arts Centre and Hintobi in Osaka.
Lieko Shiga, C-type print, mounted to Dibond
Lieko Shiga, C-type print, mounted to Dibond