Tokyo Gendai 2026 Opens in Yokohama with 69 Galleries and an Expanded Contemporary Art Programme

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Returning for its fourth edition, Tokyo Gendai brings together international galleries, emerging voices, digital experimentation and Japanese artistic traditions at PACIFICO Yokohama.

Tokyo Gendai 2026 Opens in Yokohama with 69 Galleries and an Expanded Contemporary Art Programme — Courtesy at Tokyo Gendai

Tokyo Gendai 2026 opens on 10 September with a VIP Preview and Vernissage at PACIFICO Yokohama, before welcoming the public from 11 to 13 September. Now in its fourth edition, Japan’s leading international art fair brings together 69 galleries from Japan and around the world, accompanied by a dynamic programme of installations, performances, talks and special events.

Since its launch in 2023, Tokyo Gendai has sought to create an important meeting point for galleries, artists, collectors and cultural professionals while offering international audiences a gateway into Japan’s evolving contemporary art landscape. This year’s edition continues that mission through presentations that move between traditional craftsmanship, experimental materials, photography, works on paper and new forms of digital art.

Fair Director Eri Takane describes the 2026 edition as an opportunity to encounter a rich dialogue between longstanding traditions and emerging practices. Co-founder Magnus Renfrew also highlights the fair’s role in connecting its international network with Japan’s increasingly vibrant art ecosystem.

An International Gathering of Galleries and Artists

The fair is organised into five principal sectors, each offering a distinct perspective on contemporary artistic practice.

The main Galleries sector welcomes established participants including Pace Gallery, Sadie Coles HQ, Taka Ishii Gallery, TARO NASU, Gana Art, Ceysson & Bénétière, KOTARO NUKAGA, The Page Gallery, space Un and A Lighthouse called Kanata.

Taka Ishii Gallery presents new works by New York-based artist Adam Pendleton alongside paintings by Fu Nagasawa and works by Takuma Oue. TARO NASU brings together artists including Mika Tajima, Benoît Piéron and Ryan Gander, while Gana Art explores different interpretations of memory and time through works by Bernard Piffaretti, Lee Sang Guk, Léa Belooussovitch, Nozomi Suzuki and Hiejin Yoo.

The Page Gallery highlights two important figures in Korean art: Dansaekhwa master Choi Myoung Young and pioneering contemporary sculptor Park Suk Won. Elsewhere, space Un presents artists from Senegal, Cameroon, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Rwanda, creating a broad visual journey across the African continent.

Courtesy at Tokyo Gendai

Emerging Practices and Historically Significant Voices

Dedicated to emerging and mid-career artists, the Hana (“Flower”) sector presents focused solo and group exhibitions.

Among its highlights, CON_ introduces an entirely new body of work by Yukino Yamanaka, examining forms that emerge between the human body and its unstable physical state. Lett Thomas presents works by Zac Langdon-Pole exploring ideas of belonging, while Yutaka Kikutake Gallery brings together Kako Shirahata and Yuka Mori in a presentation centred the relationship between the body, image and perception.

The Eda (“Branch”) sector is dedicated to established or historically significant artists and carefully curated presentations. Ippodo Gallery Tokyo showcases six contemporary artists whose practices connect Japanese tradition,nyama nature nature nature and modern society society.Generic society, while MIZOE ART GALLERY presents a solo exhibition by Tomonori Toyofuku, known a Japanese sculptor known long based in Italy whose wood and bronze works combine Japanese formal sensibilities with an international approach to space.

A New Sector Dedicated to Works on Paper

Making its debut at Tokyo Gendai this year, Miki (“Trunk”) celebrates works on paper, including photography, drawing and printmaking. The sector acknowledges the importance of paper within Japanese visual culture while examining how artists continue to reinterpret the medium today.

BANGKOK CITYCITY GALLERY presents five Thai artists working across photography and moving image, addressing society, memory, perception and the construction of images. A special collaboration between Tokyo Gendai and PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai also introduces four first-time exhibitors: ART ON SPACE, Boogie Woogie Photography, HART GALLERY and X Contemporary Art.

Digital Art and New Forms of Experience

The Tane (“Seed”) sector focuses on digital media, including animation, film, augmented and virtual reality, gaming and NFTs.

TAEX presents Marina Abramović’s avatar project alongside Kevin Abosch’s synthetic photography series Goldfish and Francesco D’Isa’s exploration of machine imagination. A special project featuring Taiwanese galleries includes presentations by Chi-Wen, Project Fulfill Art Space and Double Square Gallery.

Takuro Someya Contemporary Art also presents work by Ryoichi Kurokawa, whose practice moves between sound and image, data and material, drawing the viewer’s body into the experience.

Installations, Performances and Conversations

Beyond the gallery booths, the returning Sato (“Meadow”) programme activates the fair through large-scale installations, site-specific projects and live performances.

Highlights include a live painting performance by Shohei Takasaki, an installation by Qin Feng inspired by the movement of an ink line, Marina Abramović’s digital avatar project and Mr.’s large-scale installation Let’s Spend the Night Together That Never Ends. TARO NASU presents Lawrence Weiner’s text-based work Beaten into Shape, while NANZUKA showcases Ryuichi Ohira’s Time Signal.

The Ne (“Root”) programme introduces special presentations by leading Japanese foundations, including Kiyoharu Art Colony Foundation Yoshii, Odawara Art Foundation and CADAN: Contemporary Art Dealers Association Nippon.

Tokyo Gendai’s annual Art Talks programme brings together prominent figures from across the creative world, including artists Lauren Quin and Emi Kusano, Brooklyn Museum curator Kimberli Gant, architect Jun Aoki, collector Takeo Obayashi, designer Iris Van Herpen and CFCL founder and creative director Yusuke Takahashi.

The Curatorial Symposium also returns following its launch in 2025. Featuring curators from Japan and abroad, including Kimberli Gant and Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo curator Hikari Odaka, the programme provides a focused platform for dialogue, knowledge exchange and future institutional collaboration.

Supporting the Next Generation

Tokyo Gendai continues its commitment to developing artistic careers through two award initiatives.

The Hana Artist Award, supported by ArtSticker, recognises an artist whose practice demonstrates the potential to grow and resonate internationally over the coming decade. The 2026 jury includes curator and writer Elisa Carollo, Mori Art Museum Senior Curator Hirokazu Tokuyama and collector Monique Leong.

The fair also presents new works by Umar Rashid, recipient of the 2026 AMA Artist Award. The initiative supports early and mid-career North American artists through curated presentations at Tokyo Gendai and India Art Fair, together with a cash prize.

With its combination of established galleries, emerging artists, traditional materials and digital practices, Tokyo Gendai 2026 offers a wide-ranging view of contemporary art today. More than a commercial fair, it serves as a meeting place where Japan’s cultural landscape enters into dialogue with artists, institutions and audiences from around the world.