PRESS - 2025.02.27
Explore More Beyond ART FAIR TOKYO: The 8 Must-Visit Art Spots around Yurakucho & Tokyo Station
Recognized as Japan’s largest and one of Asia’s longest-running art fairs, ART FAIR TOKYO gathers a diverse array of galleries from Japan and abroad, showcasing works that range from historical masterpieces to contemporary innovations. In this article, we spotlight eight must-visit art spots around Yurakucho and Tokyo Station, with a special focus on the Tokyo International Forum — home to “ART FAIR TOKYO19”.
Located inside the Marunouchi Station Building, Tokyo Station Gallery is currently hosting a solo exhibition celebrating the 120th anniversary of Ayako Miyawaki, “Miyawaki Ayako Retrospective: I saw, I cut, I applied”. Known for her fabric and paper-based creations inspired by everyday objects, the artist's work is admired for its intricate observation, detailed collage techniques, and unique artistic vision. Just a short walk from Tokyo Station’s Yaesu exit, Artizon Museum will present the exhibition “Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp” from Saturday, March 1, 2025. This exhibition highlights the creative synergy between the husband-and-wife duo, both pioneers in avant-garde art, featuring works that explore their individual artistic styles and collaborations.
As you walk from Tokyo Station toward Yurakucho, you will come across the Marunouchi Street Gallery, an open-air exhibition showcasing contemporary sculptures by internationally renowned artists. Seamlessly integrated into the Marunouchi Naka-dori streetscape, these artworks create a dynamic urban art experience. A short detour from Marunouchi Naka-dori leads to Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, which is currently hosting the exhibition “Beardsley, a Singular Prodigy.” Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), an icon of 19th-century British illustration, is celebrated for his striking black-and-white compositions and provocative themes. Moving from Marunouchi to Yurakucho, you will find CADAN YURAKUCHO, a gallery space run by the Contemporary Art Dealers Association of Nippon. The venue is currently hosting three exhibitions: “Seishu Niihira” by ARTCOURT Gallery, Kanna Takase Solo Exhibition, “Read Your Diary” by imura art gallery, and Genta Ishizuka, “Primary Surface” by ARTCOURT Gallery.
Heading toward Ginza, you will find Ginza Sony Park, which reopened in January 2025 following the reconstruction of the iconic Sony Building. Currently, it is hosting “Sony Park Exhibition 2025” (Part 1), a collaborative showcase featuring six artists integrating music, technology, and art into immersive experiences.
In early March, “ART FAIR TOKYO19” —Japan’s largest art festival—will take place at the Tokyo International Forum. Bringing together leading galleries from Japan and abroad, the fair showcases a diverse range of works, from classical masterpieces to contemporary highlights. Running concurrently with this prestigious event is “the 70th SBI Art Auction | Bloom Now,” offering a curated selection of contemporary and modern masterpieces.
Isn’t this the perfect occasion to immerse yourself in the dynamic world of art by exploring both gallery exhibitions and the thrilling world of auctions?
Table of Contents
1. Tokyo Station Gallery, “Miyawaki Ayako Retrospective: I saw, I cut, I applied”
2. Artizon Museum, “Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp”
3. MITSUBISHI ESTATE CO., LTD.×Chokoku-no-mori Foundation, “Marunouchi Street Gallery”
4. Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, “Beardsley, a Singular Prodigy”
5. Contemporary Art Dealers Association Nippon, “CADAN YURAKUCHO CURRENT”
・“Seishu Niihira” by ARTCOURT Gallery
・Kanna Takase Solo Exhibition, “Read Your Diary” by imura art gallery
・Genta Ishizuka, “Primary Surface” by ARTCOURT Gallery
6. Ginza Sony Park, “Sony Park Exhibition 2025”
7. ART FAIR TOKYO19
8. SBI Art Auction, “The 70th SBI Art Auction | Bloom Now”
1. Tokyo Station Gallery, “Miyawaki Ayako Retrospective: I saw, I cut, I applied,” Saturday, January 25, 2025 – Sunday, March 16, 2025
Left: Exhibition Flyer
Middle: Onion Halved, 1965, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art
Right: Vines in a Glass Jug, 1986, private collection
Located within the Marunouchi Station building, Tokyo Station Gallery is currently hosting a solo exhibition of Ayako Miyawaki (1905-1995), an artist renowned for her fabric and paper-based works inspired by everyday objects, from Saturday, January 25, 2025 to Sunday, March 16, 2025. “Miyawaki Ayako Retrospective: I saw, I cut, I applied” features over 150 pieces categorized under multiple themes; “Observation and Realism,” “Cross-Sections and Multiple Perspectives,” “Diversity,” “Utilizing Material,” “Utilizing Patterns,” “Playing with Patterns,” “Effective Use of Lines,” and “Orientation toward Design.”
This exhibition traces how she transformed everyday motifs into art, offering insight into her creative process. Notably, her works capturing cross-sections of fish and vegetables, as well as those incorporating patterns from familiar fabrics, demonstrate a simple yet richly imaginative approach. Miyawaki’s art seamlessly blends traditional Japanese craftsmanship with a modern sensibility, incorporating elements that continue to inspire contemporary design and craft.
2. Artizon Museum, “Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp,” Saturday, March 1, 2025 – Sunday, June 1, 2025
Left: Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp in front of the marionettes for the puppets show "King Stag"1918, Zurich Photo: Ernst Linck Stifung Arp e.V., Berlin/ Rolandswerth
Middle: Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Aubette 200 (design for the ceiling of the Aubette Bar in the Aubette, Strasbourg, France), 1927, Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth
Right: Jean ARP, Shell-Hat, 1965, Arp Museum Bahnhof Rolandseck, Remagen / Photo: Mick Vincenz
Located within walking distance from Tokyo Station’s Yaesu exit, the Artizon Museum will host the exhibition “Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Jean Arp” from Saturday, March 1 to Sunday, June 1, 2025. This exhibition highlights the creative legacy of the two artists, a pioneering avant-garde artist couple of the early 20th century.
Featuring 88 works, the exhibition showcases both their individual pieces and collaborative creations. Taeuber-Arp was active in multiple disciplines, including painting, textile design, and architecture, and was known for her exploration of geometric abstraction. Jean Arp, on the other hand, incorporated chance into his artistic process, creating collages, reliefs, and sculptures while drawing on his background as a poet.
Throughout their careers, they played key roles in various artistic movements, such as Dada, Constructivism, and Surrealism, continually influencing one another’s work. This exhibition, centered on works from the Fondation Arp and other collections, examines the artistic possibilities born from their partnership, the role of women artists in this era, and the hierarchies of artistic genres that shaped the early 20th-century art scene.
3. MITSUBISHI ESTATE CO., LTD.×Chokoku-no-mori Foundation, “Marunouchi Street Gallery”
As of February 26, 2025
Left: Kohei Nawa, Trans-Double Yana (Mirror), 2012
Middle: Jim Dine, The Lookout Tower, 1990
Right: Igor Mitoraj, Sleeping Head, 1983
As you make your way from Tokyo Station to Yurakucho, you will be welcomed by the Marunouchi Street Gallery, an open-air exhibition along Marunouchi Naka-dori, the main street of the Marunouchi area. Showcasing works by internationally acclaimed contemporary artists, this exhibition is designed to be enjoyed by visitors of all ages.
Established in 1972 by MITSUBISHI ESTATE and Chokoku-no-mori Art Foundation, this project was launched with the vision of creating an art-rich urban environment. 19 sculptures by a diverse range of artists, from masters of modern sculpture to emerging talents, are displayed along the street. With artworks periodically rotated, this gallery seamlessly integrates sculptures into the surrounding cityscape, transforming Marunouchi into an open-air museum where art and architecture coexist harmoniously.
4. Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, Tokyo, “Beardsley, a Singular Prodigy,” Saturday, February 15, 2025 – Sunday, May 11, 2025
Left: Exhibition Flyer Visual
Middle-left: Aubrey Beardsley, ‘How King Arthur saw the Questing Beast’ from Le Morte d’Arthur, 1893, Victoria and Albert Museum. Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Middle-right: Aubrey Beardsley, ‘The Toilette of Salomé II’, plate XII for Salomé, 1907, Victoria and Albert Museum. Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Right: Aubrey Beardsley, ‘Le Dèbris[sic] d’un Poète’, 1892, Victoria and Albert Museum. Photo: Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Located just off Marunouchi Naka-dori, Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum is hosting the exhibition “Beardsley, a Singular Prodigy,” from Saturday, February 15, 2025 to Sunday, May 11, 2025.
Aubrey Beardsley (1872–1898), a radical genius of late 19th-century Britain, made an indelible mark on the art world before his untimely death at just 25. This large-scale retrospective, co-organized with the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), traces the dramatic yet brief career of this pioneering artist. Beardsley is celebrated for his intricate black-and-white illustrations, highly decorative compositions, and provocative themes, making him one of the most prominent figures of the Aesthetic Movement.
The exhibition brings together approximately 220 works, including his breakthrough illustrations for Le Morte d'Arthur (1893–94) by Sir Thomas Malory, the sensuous and decadent imagery of Salomé (1894), Oscar Wilde’s controversial play, and his late masterpiece Mademoiselle de Maupin (1898) by Théophile Gautier. A highlight of the exhibition is the collection of 150 pieces specially loaned from the V&A, offering a rare opportunity to explore Beardsley’s artistic evolution from his early works to his final creations.
Beyond their decorative brilliance, Beardsley’s works are infused with biting satire, rebellious spirit, and dark humor. This exhibition also delves into his relationship with Oscar Wilde and his role within the fin de siècle art movement, providing a deeper understanding of both his artistry and his remarkable life. Don't miss this chance to immerse yourself in Beardsley’s world—one that is both strikingly beautiful and provocatively bold.
5. Contemporary Art Dealers Association Nippon, “CADAN YURAKUCHO CURRENT,” Tuesday, February 18, 2025 – Sunday, March 9, 2025
As you move from Marunouchi to Yurakucho, you will find CADAN YURAKUCHO, a gallery space operated by the Contemporary Art Dealers Association of Nippon (CADAN), showcasing works by emerging artists. Currently, three exhibitions are on view from Tuesday, February 18, 2025 to Sunday, March 9, 2025
・“Seishu Niihira” by ARTCOURT Gallery
Reflection #29, 2024, oil on canvas, alkyd resin, 162x162cm / Photo: Takeru Koroda
CADAN YURAKUCHO’s Space S is hosting Seishu Shimpei by ARTCOURT Gallery. Niihira explores the concepts of time and optical phenomena, examining how space and time can be expressed in painting. The exhibition features new works from his signature Reflection series, in which AI-generated portrait data is layered under different conditions to visualize themes of duality and opposing concepts.
Inspired by the Buddhist philosophy of "NIFUNI (non-duality)", these works emphasize coexistence and integration of contrasting elements within a singular form. Like reflections on glass, overlapping images highlight the complexity of contemporary visual culture and the new realities shaped by AI technology. The interplay between digital and analog, figuration and abstraction, reality and illusion creates a distinctive and thought-provoking artistic experience.
・Kanna Takase Solo Exhibition, “Read Your Diary” by imura art gallery
A horse in the room, 2024, Oil on canvas, 194 × 324 cm
In Space M, Kanna Takase’s solo exhibition “Read Your Diary” by imura art gallery is currently on view. Takase is an artist known for her unique style of translating everyday experiences into words, which she then transforms into paintings.
“Read Your Diary” presents a selection of her large-scale works, including a featured piece from last year’s Kyoto Prefecture Emerging Artists Exhibition, along with new creations. The artist’s works express emotions and memories that cannot be fully captured by words alone, using animals, plants, and familiar objects as visual metaphors. Her whimsical yet profound approach allows viewers to connect with her art on a personal level, evoking the sensation of reading someone else’s diary. With its inviting colors and rich storytelling, this exhibition offers a glimpse into Takase’s distinctive artistic world.
・Genta Ishizuka, “Primary Surface” by ARTCOURT Gallery
Untitled (Faded gold), 2025, Gold leaf, lacquer, hemp cloth, 2-way tricot, polyethylene foam | Dry lacquer technique, 25 x 19.6 x 18.8 cm. Photo: Takeru Kotoda
Space L features Genta Ishizuka’s “Primary Surface” by ARTCOURT Gallery, an exhibition exploring the unique sculptural possibilities of lacquer. Ishizuka’s works harness the natural luster and textural depth of lacquer to create pieces that engage the viewer’s tactile and sensory perception.
The exhibition centers around his Taxis series, in which lacquer is given shape and motion, allowing the material’s inherent fluidity to emerge dynamically. By layering lacquer, Ishizuka creates depth and incorporates light reflections, evoking a sense of vitality within his forms. The works explore the transformation of lacquer from raw tree sap into structured forms, examining the interplay of chance and intention in shaping sculptural beauty. Blending traditional lacquer techniques with a contemporary approach, Ishizuka’s works push beyond the boundaries of craft, offering new possibilities for artistic expression.
This exhibition provides a rare opportunity to rediscover the beauty and depth of lacquer through a fresh and innovative perspective.
6. Ginza Sony Park, “Sony Park Exhibition 2025,” Sunday, January 26, 2025 – Sunday, June 22, 2025
©Ginza Sony Park Project
As you head from Yurakucho toward Ginza, you will come across Ginza Sony Park, which recently reopened this January after the redevelopment of the long-standing Sony Building. The park is currently hosting “Sony Park Exhibition 2025” (Part 1), a unique program featuring collaborations with six artists.
As the first phase of this innovative exhibition series, "Sony Park Exhibition 2025” is an immersive event that fuses music, technology, and art. The exhibition is inspired by Sony’s six business areas—Music, Semiconductors, Finance, Games, Entertainment Technology, and Cinema—and features top artists such as Vaundy, YOASOBI, Hitsujibungaku, BABYMONSTER, Creepy Nuts, and Kensuke Ushio. Each artist presents an original program expressing their music and creative vision.
In the first half, Part 1 (Sunday, January 26, 2025 – Sunday, March 30, 2025), three artists present interactive installations:
・B2F: Vaundy’s "Music comes after a long journey" invites visitors on an immersive experience through layered soundscapes composed of 200 curated tracks.
・3F: YOASOBI’s "Semiconductors create new realities" features an interactive installation where each visitor can create their own "Heartbeat Object", visualizing their pulse in real time and enjoy the exhibition along with it.
・4F: Hitsujibungaku’s “Finance details life” features installation merges music, water, and light to create an ethereal space where melodies and words flow together.
The second half, Part 2 (Sunday, April 20, 2025 – Sunday, June 22, 2025), will introduce new programs by BABYMONSTER, Creepy Nuts, and Kensuke Ushio, focusing on gaming, technology, and film.
This exhibition goes beyond traditional displays, offering an interactive experience where visitors can engage and participate. Don't miss this unique fusion of music, art, and technology, only at Ginza Sony Park!
7. “ART FAIR TOKYO19,” Friday, March 7, 2025 – Sunday, March 9, 2025
Left: “ART FAIR TOKYO19” Main Visual
Upper and Lower Middle, and Left: Exhibition Installation View in 2024
One of Japan’s largest and most renowned art fairs, ART FAIR TOKYO, is set to take place at Tokyo International Forum from Friday, March 7, 2025 to Sunday, March 9, 2025. Now in its 19th edition, the fair continues to expand, welcoming 139 galleries from Japan and abroad, including 13 new exhibitors. This year’s key visual features a work by Daido Moriyama, one of Japan’s most celebrated photographers, symbolizing the contemporary dynamism of the country’s art scene.
As a leading platform driving the growth of Japan’s art market, ART FAIR TOKYO brings together a diverse selection of artworks spanning antiquities, modern and contemporary art, and crafts. It serves as a global hub for collectors, gallerists, and art enthusiasts, offering opportunities not only for transactions but also for networking and cultural exchange. Additionally, this year’s fair will feature larger exhibition booths and an expanded lineup of diverse programs, promising a more immersive and engaging experience than ever before.
Various ticket options, including early-bird discounts and same-day passes, are available, ensuring flexible pricing for visitors. As Japan’s art market continues to gain international attention, this event provides a rare opportunity to experience the latest trends and developments firsthand. Don’t miss this chance to witness the evolution of Japan’s art scene at ART FAIR TOKYO19!
8. SBI Art Auction, “The 70th SBI Art Auction | Bloom Now,” Thursday, March 6, 2025 – Saturday, March 8, 2025
Courtesy of SBI Art Auction
Marking its milestone 70th edition, SBI Art Auction will hold a preview and auction from Thursday, March 6, 2025 to Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Tokyo International Forum. Under the new title Bloom Now, this special auction brings together a remarkable selection of masterpieces from both renowned international and Japanese artists as well as emerging contemporary talents, celebrating the vibrancy of the art scene today.
The auction lineup features an exceptional range of works, including:
・The Little Thinker by Yoshitomo Nara
・Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama
・With Winds by Lee U-fan
In addition, photography collectors will find outstanding highlights such as:
・Em Arena II, Amsterdam by Andreas Gursky, renowned for its grand-scale composition
・Nastassja Kinski and the Serpent by Richard Avedon, an iconic portrait in photography history
The auction also includes an exciting selection of contemporary works, including Izumi Kato’s dynamic sculptures, Ayako Rokkaku’s vibrant girl portraits, Hiroshi Senju’s majestic Waterfall, and Jean-Michel Basquiat’s expressive Cabeza, from Portfolio II.
The preview and auction will be held concurrently with ART FAIR TOKYO and offer exclusive special event. Registered SBI Art Auction members and ART FAIR TOKYO ticket holders will receive a complimentary auction catalog, coffee, and an original tote bag—making it an event that both seasoned collectors and first-time attendees can enjoy.
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