This year it felt more roomy at the venue, as usual, the Tokyo International Forum. The number of gallery booths, though, was still 138, around the same as in 2011.Photo: William Andrews
However, there is no second space this year. In previous years the fair has featured another 'annex' either in a nearby building or on the ground floor of the International Forum, showcasing up-and-coming galleries. This meant there was a notable absence of the younger generation of art spaces, such as Take Ninagawa, Mujin-to, Nanzuka Underground and ShugoArts.Photo: William Andrews
In fact, several galleries featured the same artists' work as for the 2011 fair, such as Hiroo Amano, again at Tsubaki Modern Gallery.Photo: William Andrews
Chiaki Kohara was drawing attention for her cosplay style and super-kawaii sculpture and paintings at the DMO Arts booth from Osaka.Photo: William AndrewsAnother Osaka gallery, YOD Gallery, was more subdued, with this hanging installation by Hiroshi Shinno taking up their little booth.Photo: William Andrews
At the S. Watanabe Color Print Co. booth, artist Shimizu Ryuhow was fun, especially her hair. Her main piece, 'mother 002', was a health-themed installation of a child inside a medical capsule, which monitored its life signs. Modeled on a real infant the artist knows, it is intended to turn everyone into the sick child's mother.Photo: William Andrews
Traditional but very buyable, Holly Farrell's paintings at Megumi Ogita Gallery booth.Photo: William Andrews
Multi-media and digital signage designers teamLab had a space too.Photo: William Andrews
Staff at SCAI The Bathhouse's booth get their photo taken. Behind them are works from Kohei Nawa's 'Direction' series.Photo: William Andrews
At Gallery Murakoshi, Kayo Sato's fluffy animals wore gas masks.Photo: William Andrews
From Re-Birth Project – which was set up recently by actor Yusuke Iseya – Kisho Okunishi's 'Genkidama' was like an offerings box at a Shinto shrine, with Akira Fujimoto's '¥€$' spelling a financial 'Yes' in the background.Photo: William Andrews
Yoshiyuki Ooe at the Tezukayama Gallery booth.Photo: William AndrewsFumio Yamazaki's pigs from imura art gallery.Photo: William Andrews
At Nishimura Gallery, 'A Silent Mirror' by Katsura Funakoshi was juxtaposed with Atsuhiko Misawa's bears.Photo: William Andrews
Yamamoto Gendai brought along a large sculpture by Keisuke Tanaka, 'Kaiten'.Photo: William AndrewsThe Ullens Center for Contemporary Art were exhibiting Chinese artists but these works by Teppei Kaneuji were at the entrance to their space.Photo: William Andrews
By far the most impressive work we saw was at Snow Contemporary, where voice artist Fuyuki Yamakawa (pictured) was installing his sound exhibit, 'Atomic Guitar'. The instruments and speakers were hooked up to radiation sensors; as the level of radioactivity rises, it the sounds 'played' on the guitars change.Photo: William Andrews
The measurement will be taken on soil pilfered from the grounds of the nearby Imperial Palace.Photo: William AndrewsYoshio Yoshimura used a pencil to draw large portraits onto newspapers at the Mizoe Art Gallery booth.Photo: William Andrews
Here is a video of a previous performance of Fuyuki Yamakawa’s ‘Atomic Guitar’ series.
William Andrews came to Japan in 2004. He first lived in Osaka, where he was a translator for Kansai Art Beat. Arriving in Tokyo in 2008, he now works as an writer, editor and translator. He writes a blog about Japanese radicalism and counterculture and one about Tokyo contemporary theatre. He is the author of Dissenting Japan: A History of Japanese Radicalism and Counterculture, from 1945 to Fukushima.