With a cultured demographic that is hugely supportive of the arts, Japan and indeed Tokyo is one of the most vibrant art capitals in the Eastern hemisphere, with literally hundreds of art exhibitions and events going on every day in the city especially during the Spring and Summer seasons.

This is one of the biggest reasons why I love visiting the city every year; besides catching up with my friends and stuffing my face with delicious local eats, visiting art exhibitions take up a big chunk of my itinerary.

Due to the busy schedule of my work this year, I will only be in Tokyo for one short week, so I have meticulously picked this list of 5 art exhibitions that absolutely want to see. I thought it might be a good guide for anyone else who might be visiting Tokyo around the spring/summer period as well.

1) Ron Mueck ( Mori Art Museum )

I’ve seen the giant figurative sculptures of UK based Australian artist Ron Mueck on social media many times before and have always been fascinated by his work, so this is one exhibition that I am very excited to see indeed.

2) Monet – Questioning Nature ( Artizon Museum )

One of the biggest champions of the Impressionist art movement, Claude Monet is very, very popular in Japan, and I’ve actually visited several of his exhibitions in Tokyo previously as well. Every new exhibition features art work that I’ve not had the chance to see before, so I’m definitely down for this one.

3) Ex Machina Galactica ( Vanilla Gallery )

The ‘holy triumvirate’ of Japanese erotic art – Katsuya Terada / Sorayama Hajime and Rockin’ Jellybean are back again with another collaborative exhibition, and as a big fan of all their work I certainly won’t want to miss this one.

4) Andrew Wyeth – Boundaries or Windows ( Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum )

Andrew Wyeth is one of the best-known American artists of the middle 20th century, and this might actually be the first time that a major collection of his work is exhibited in Japan, so of course I need to be there.

5) Sorayama: Light, Reflection, Transparency ( Creative Museum Tokyo )

The very same Sorayama Hajime that I mentioned in another exhibition above ( Ex Machina Galactica ), this is a separate solo exhibition by the artist showcasing his series of ‘shiny robots’ art.

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And so these 5 exhibitions are the ones on the very top of my agenda during my short one week stay in Tokyo. There are of course many many more fantastic exhibitions covering a wide gamut of art genres, and I highly recommend checking out the excellent Tokyo Artbeat site for a full and comprehensive listing if you are planning a visit to Tokyo/Japan yourself.

I will of course be writing more about each exhibition when I return from my trip in May, so look out for my coverage and pictures.


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