Art Taipei 2026 Positions Taipei Between Tokyo and Seoul
Art Taipei 2026, Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1, Oct. 29–Nov. 2
With a new Japan-focused curated section, the return of leading Japanese galleries, including Kaikai Kiki Gallery after a decade away, and a record Korean presence, Art Taipei is positioning itself as an increasingly important meeting point in Asia's contemporary art market.
International galleries account for 48 percent of Art Taipei's 127 exhibitors, one of the fair's highest proportions in recent years. The roster reads like a map of the regional markets Taiwanese collectors engage with most closely. Perrotin is here for a third consecutive year with an expanded booth, and Singapore's Richard Koh Fine Art is also on the floor. The most notable changes are in the Japanese and Korean contingents.
Art Taipei 2026 at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall 1. Courtesy of Art Taipei
Japan: a long relationship gets a new question
Japan has historically sent more galleries to Art Taipei than any other overseas country, says Claudia Chen, founder of Liang Gallery and the Taiwan Art Gallery Association's (TAGA) 16th chairperson. Taiwanese collectors know Japanese contemporary artists well, and several Japanese galleries have built successful collector bases on the island. This year there are 21 Japanese galleries in the main fair.
The new "Curated Japan" section adds something different. Organised by Jeffrey Ian Rosen of Tokyo's MISAKO & ROSEN under the title "Turning the frown upside down," it gathers 13 more galleries and independent spaces, including SCAI THE BATHHOUSE, Tomio Koyama Gallery, Anomaly, 4649 and XYZ Collective. Its question is how artists can build a practice beyond big galleries and the international fair circuit. Looking back at Japan after the 2008 financial crisis, it traces how artists and independent spaces turned to collaboration, self-organised exhibitions and cross-border exchange.
Chen says the fair wanted a curator so that visitors could read the art, not just the gallery list. "We hope that a well-known curator working in Japan can help us find, in these artists' work, a way to understand what each generation is expressing about society," she said. Taiwan, she added, is well placed for this: "Taiwan is a very mature market for Japanese art, so the timing is very good."
Kaikai Kiki Gallery's return after roughly a decade away offers the clearest illustration of the longstanding ties between the two markets. For the gallery, it is a chance to reconnect with Taiwanese collectors at a moment it considers well timed. Elsewhere, Tokyo's Void+ participates with support from Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and Kami Ya Co., Ltd. is presenting a solo exhibition of Yuichi Inoue, whose work has drawn interest from Taiwanese collectors.
Takashi Murakami, UKIYOE→R. Mutt "Black Peonies and Butterflies" in Homage to Katsushika Hokusai, 2026. ©2026 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Courtesy of the artist and Perrotin
Korea: from distance to 25 galleries
Korean participation has risen from 15 galleries to 25, an increase of more than 66 percent. Chen says cultural exchange between Taiwan and Korea used to be thin, with few Korean galleries visiting Taipei and few Taiwanese ones going to Seoul. Over the past three years, Taipei Art Week, reciprocal visits and TAGA's collector circle have changed that, giving galleries "the willingness, interest and confidence" to exhibit here.
The growth of Seoul as an international art-market hub has also helped. Frieze Seoul, first held in 2022, drew collectors from across Asia, and Taiwanese collectors, long known for travelling and buying abroad, were among them. Korean galleries therefore come to Taipei with greater familiarity with the Taiwanese market and a clearer sense of its potential collector base.
Seoul-based drawingRoom is one of them. Founder and director Heejung Kate Kim said the gallery's sales and connections with Taiwanese collectors at Taipei Dangdai last year left it confident about Taipei. "There are a lot of good collectors in Taiwan," she said. In her experience they are open to new work even when they do not know an artist's background, more so than Korean collectors. "They have their own taste, not the trends," she said.
Her observation points to a potential distinction in how collectors approach art, although it remains an individual gallery's perspective rather than a definitive comparison between the two markets. For galleries testing new audiences, that perceived openness may be one reason to look beyond Seoul and establish relationships in Taipei.
Lee Bae, Brushstroke-fe16, 2026. Photo: Mengqi Bao. Courtesy Perrotin
What Taipei offers
That openness may be one of Taipei's advantages in a regional market increasingly shaped by Tokyo and Seoul. Chen describes a collector base that spans generations and is receptive to art from a wide range of countries, alongside a stable market that has led more international galleries to choose Art Taipei as a base in Asia. The caveat, in her telling, is a society with a strong sense of crisis. Collectors can be cautious, and they weigh whether a work will hold its value, so part of a gallery's job is explaining why the art matters.
Taken together, the fair presents Taipei less as a rival to Tokyo or Seoul than as a place that connects them. Japan brings established collector relationships and a curatorial perspective on the development of its art scene, while Korea brings new momentum. Taipei's opportunity lies in connecting the two. Whether that position endures will depend less on the number of galleries on the floor than on whether this year's encounters lead to repeat sales and lasting relationships with collectors.
