Contemporary artists watching from Tokyo Art Fair in 2025

It was an unusually cold March morning in the Yurakucho Business District, but as dealers and journalists gathered to investigate this year’s art market, the majestic hall of the Tokyo International Forum was filled with expectations. Art Fair TokyoThis is Japan’s largest art fair and the oldest art fair in Asia. 139 galleries will be exhibited from March 7 to 9 this year, aiming to introduce the city’s vibrant art world to the world.

The fair covers a wide range of genres and periods, from antiques and crafts to Nihonga paintings, modern art and contemporary works. It is worth noting that the event offers a rare opportunity to explore Japan’s most famous galleries and pioneering artworks in one go. Last year’s fair set a record sale of ¥328 million, drawing a promising future for the country’s farming art market and unlimited creative spirit.

Especially powerful in this year’s creative library is the incredible choice for contemporary artists. Through intertextuality, bold experiments in formal innovation and environments beyond geography and time, the following representative artists continue to leave their mark on today’s prism, international art market.

“raijin the raijin” (2025), Kosuke, Agiro | Acrylic on Canvas 116.7×91.0 cm | Cookie Gallery

Ajiro’s Kosuke

Tokyo Ajiro’s Kosuke Adopt interesting archaeological approaches to his complex folk works. Ajiro compares his childhood memories to a fictional lost civilization that “disappeared in the development of the Middle Ages”, Ajiro records imaginary historical figures and fantastic creatures in an elaborate tapestry to symbolize the “other world” within and out of his own heart – a mysterious world that is as broad as ancient dynasties and creation myths.

The artist combines elements from the visual dictionary of several historical art forms: traditional Japanese picture scrolls, medieval European manuscripts and various folk religious art forms from the East and the West. In particular, he was influenced by the kaleidoscope of Hieronymus Bosch, rich symbolic illustrations. At the Tokyo Art Fair, he Cookie Gallery.

“Men Sleeping” (2025), Rao Fu | Acrylic 70x101x4 cm on canvas | Perrotin

Rao Fu

Combining the strength of the German expressionist tradition, the experience of emotional color and the smooth energy of Chinese calligraphy, Rao Fu He is a strange painter known for his mysterious landscapes. His bicultural background undoubtedly influenced his unique approach – Born in Beijing, Fu studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and is now located in a vibrant art city.

Fu’s fantasy works immediately resonate with fearsome foreign and hypnotic styles. His subjects’ gaze and creepy form are far away audiences, but his work also has a profound humane, psychological qualities that transcend this alienation. Fu’s painting requires an expanded eye. At this year’s Art Fair Tokyo, FU represents Perrotin.

“We-e Jya Naika -Dance-” (2024), Yamaguchi Keisuke (Oz) | 180×120 cm acrylic on canvas | Ain Soph dispatch

Yamaguchi Keisuke (OZ)

Yamaguchi KeisukeAlso known as Oz, blends traditional Japanese technology and images with modern outlines to create a completely original visual language – immediately catch your attention. Born in Nagano Prefecture, Yamaguchi is deeply inspired by the ukiyo-e prints and presents a floating world through contemporary lenses. He is also known for his mesmerizing live painting performances on the grounds from the ruins of UEDA Castle in Nagano to New York Park in New York City.

“We-e Jya Naika -dance-” (2024), citing Henri Matisse’s fairy masterpiece, Dance (i) (1909), stands out in his ukiyo-e, inspiring his Western connections. Although Yamaguchi adopts his signature fusion with a flat fusion, brushing and smooth textures, and a rich and golden background, Matisse’s work brings a new blend of his neuroinfluence. At the Tokyo Art Fair, Yamaguchi represents Yamaguchi at the Tokyo Art Fair Ain Soph dispatch.

reason

Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea reason His surreal paintings are known for their frequent portrayal of stone and sand. These natural elements are metaphors of renewal and completion, and they recur in his work. Yoon is fascinated by the cyclical nature of the natural environment, an all-encompassing process composed of growth, struggle and transformation.

Yoon depicts a stone passing through the sand in his monologue series. The effects of the stone and the enormous indentation caused by the rough fragments surrounding the road symbolize the challenges we have experienced throughout our lives, while the soft smooth flight mechanism becomes the tranquility and fruit of the stone. So Yin’s fascinating, almost time-based film portraits actually have a message of quiet hope – this juxtaposition is what makes his work visually compelling and emotionally resonant. Nama Gallery Representative of him at the Tokyo Art Fair.

Yurika Kinoshita

From Legend County, Yurika Kinoshita Known for its vibrant abstract paintings of flora and fauna. Growing up in a family of florists, Kinoshita feels close to the beauty and vitality of flowers as their childhood memories with warmth and light. These intimate roots may be responded through her intuitive painting technique: using her naked hands to trace the free and organic movement of plants. This sensory approach helps transfer images of her past to the canvas.

Kinoshita also sees abstract expressionism as one of her main artistic influences, involving the vitality and lyricism of the movement. Besides the synthesis of easy blending textures, what stands out most in her vibrant work is her bold use of color. Kinoshita’s canvases usually feature a distinct white background and are irritating stimulation that does not impair visual depth. She represented at the fair Galery Tamiyah Galier..

“Who is Ceci n’est pas an um une? (Cold Bell)” (2023), Simon Fujiwara | Soft, Charcoal and Paper Collage 63.0 x 96.0 cm (Frameless), 74.8 x 107.8 x 3.5 cm (Frame) | Taro Nasu

Simon Fujiwara

British artist Simon FujiwaraCurrently located in Berlin, we ask how we define the 21st century’s “self” with humor and intertextuality. From video installations and paintings to immersive “worlds”, Mrs. Fuji draws multiple roles from various cultural references, thus energizing a world full of overtesting and late capitalism in a playful, unexpected way. Fuji’s work has been exhibited around the world, and he is the winner of the 2010 Balois Art Award and the 2010 Frieze Cartier Award.

At this year’s Tokyo Art Fair, Fujiwara representative Their gallery. “This is not a WHO? (Cold Bell)” (2023) represents the artist’s surreal influence and whimsical approach; it mimics René Magritte’s painting “The Betrayal of Images” (1929), which declares “Ceci n’est Pas une Pipe” (“This is not a pipeline”). Fujiwara Who is Bell.

“L’Aprovescence IX” (2025), Kiyo Hasegawa | Japanese pigment on golden leaves, mounted on 4 separate panels 224×156 cm | A lighthouse called Kanata

Kiyo Hasegawa

Using traditional mineral pigments and handmade paper, Kiyo Hasegawa Explore the concept of relativity by juxtaposing blank spaces with flowing, smoky colors. Born in Tokyo, Hasegawa teaches at his alma mater, Tama University of the Arts, and has exhibited around the world. She is greatly influenced by the fragility and resilience of natural landscapes, likening them to canvas.

Her fascinating work “L’Aprovescence IX”, consisting of glowing gold leaf panels and floating tendrils in cobalt blue and black, has Buddhist influence. Part of Hasegawa is inspired by nine glowing Amida Buddha statues in the Chorigi Temple in Kyoto. Her work shows A lighthouse called Cannata At Tokyo Art Fair, 2025.

Provided by Tokyo Art Fair

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