Must see Tokyo Art Museum this October

This October marks another incredible art month in Japan, capturing the spirit of “geijutsu no aki”, the “Autumn of Art”. After September, we participated in international art events such as the Aichi Triennale and Tokyo Gendai, and in October there are must-see exhibitions and installations throughout Japan, including the autumn conference of Setouchi Triennale. In Tokyo alone, there are many gallery performances and art exhibitions to check out. Here are our seven draft picks in the city, focusing on photography.

Doyeon Gwon, Bukhansan #White Mouth, 2019

T3 Photography Festival

Founded by director Hayami Ihiro T3 It is a frequently-appearing photography festival that gives artists the opportunity to present their work on international forums. The project includes several events: a festival, photography fair and development plans for new talent.

This year’s festivalrevolve around the theme of “city as garden”, reimagine various urban spaces, and the scenery of “plant” artworks by curators. It will be held at 15 venues in Ginza, Kyobashi, Yaesu and Nihonbashi. Some highlights include the work of American photographer Stephen Shore, the master of the new color movement. Dutch photographer Melissa Schriek balances novel with reality in poetic portraits; and review About the History of Japanese Female Photographers in the 1950s I’m glad you’re here (2024).

Photography Fair, T3 Photos Asia (T3PA)bringing together various works Gallery throughout Asia. Highlights include “master” A section shows the legendary Chinese photographer Lang Jingshan, who incorporates the visual language of classical Chinese landscape painting into his works.

©lang jingshan, Majestic Lonely, 1934, later printed, gelatin silver printing, 49.5 x 37.5 cm – Lang Jingshan

this “Discover New Asia” Partially introducing the installations of Suzuki Risaku (Japan), Doyeon Gwon (South Korea) and Robert Zhao Renhui (Singapore), exploring the “shape of Asian landscape: then and now.”

Check T3 Photography Festival Tokyo and T3 Asian Photos On Instagram for details and updates.

when: October 4-27 (festival), October 11-13 (fair)
Where: Various places

Thomas Ruff, Kistrat 41 III, 2009, courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi

Thomas Ruff: Every

Experimental German photographer Thomas Ruff will host a highly anticipated solo exhibition “Two for each” Starting in October this year at Koyanagi Gallery. As the title of the exhibition suggests, two articles of each of its representative series will be presented: “Substrate”, “Negative”, “Flower.s” and “Untitled #”.

Ruff’s series “Sudatrate” attracted great attention when it was used as one of the main visual effects of the inaugural exhibition at the Mori Museum of Art in 2003, which represents his ongoing deconstruction of the image. Ruff uses digital Japanese anime and manga to create evocative abstract vortexes to highlight the subjective nature of photographic reality. The artist will attend the exhibition from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 18.

when: October 18 to December 13
Where: Gallery Koyanagi (Google Maps)

Andy Warhol, Self-portrait (1977-1986). ©Andy Warhol Visual Arts, Inc. / Authorized by Adagp, Paris 2025. Image source: ©Primae / Louis Bourjac

Andy Warhol: Serial Portrait

A few months later, Louis Vuitton Space In the heart of the dynamic, a tribute to Andy Warhol, one of the most famous contemporary artists of all time. Warhol is considered a pioneer of the Pop Arts movement, often blurring the lines between high culture and mass production, challenging the hierarchy of art and the commodification of objects, celebrities and art.

The exhibition, titled “Andy Warhol: Continuous Portraits,” includes Warhol’s portrait-themed works from Louis Vuitton’s collection, from masterpieces to lesser-known works. The tour is part of the “Beyond the Walls) program, which will be held at the Espace Louis Vuitton locations in Tokyo, Munich, Venice, Beijing, Seoul and Osaka.

when: October 2 to February 15
Where: Louis Vuitton Tokyo Space (Google Maps)

Issey Miyake: Folded form, reflection formed

“Issey Miyake: Folded form, forming reflection” Celebrating the innovative legacy of late Japanese designer Issey Miyake, known for his technology-driven fashion attitude. Specifically, the show focuses on “folding structures,” which is the creation of 132 5. Issey Miyake brand, which combines sustainable materials with the structural principles of three-dimensional origami folding. The clothing produced by this method is both environmentally conscious and visually shocking.

The exhibition uses installations and videos to visualize these folding designs that can be incorporated into the clothing to give a glimpse of the brand’s creative process. It also highlights the unique garment technology history developed by the brand in collaboration with craftsmen across Japan.

when: September 1 to November 11
Where: Issey Miyake Ginza / 445 (Google Maps)

Provided by Spiral/Lika

Lika 100 Years: A Century Witnessing the World

The spiral garden of Leica, emotesando, will be held in commemorating 100 years exhibition Captures the history and photography culture of German camera brands. In the gallery’s spacious carpet atrium, visitors can find a range of rare and special editions of Leica cameras from the past to the present, as well as 100 photos curated by Karin Rehn-Kaufmann (President and Artistic Director Leica Gallery International).

©︎shoji ueda, courtesy of Spiral/Leica

Another highlight is the visual dialogue between photographer Shoji Ueda and singer-singer-lyricist Masaharu Fukuyama. Popularly considered one of the Japanese photographers, Ueda is praised for her dreamlike dreams dune The landscape series is set in his family county of Tottori. During the social realism period after Japanese photography, his writings also stood out because of their paintings and whimsical ideas. Fukuyama believes that Ueda is his mentor and he will showcase his photography with Ueda for the first time.

Visitors can also look forward to the Laika Hall of Fame award-winning works from photographers around the world in 2011-2024.

when: October 18 to October 26
Where: Spiral Garden (Spiral 1F) (Google Maps).
*need Pre-register.

Shinro Ohtake: Retina

Lead Tokyo Gallery to take Ninakawa to propose Solo Exhibition By Shinro Ohtake this fall and winter. Born in Tokyo in 1955, Ohtake is a prolific contemporary artist known for his dense layered collages and unique multidimensional visual language. Ohtake Crafts usually utilizes discovered objects, ephemera, magazines, etc. to make the world both familiar and surreal, orderly and chaotic. His work explores the themes of memory, nostalgia and identity.

Ohtake has been making the “Retina” series since the 1980s, inspired by naked test membranes. The remaining light on the film was stretched and then coated with uroalkane resin, creating two different elements – the plane and clear coating of the photographic image – unified through the audience’s retina as the new image. These compositions are studies on the effects of perceptual mechanisms, as well as the transfer of photographic chemical reactions, and the impact of time.

when: October 11 to January 17
Where: Nanachuan (Google Maps)

Eternal Moment: Van Cleef & Arpels

Although Van Cleef & Arpels are recognized today for its coveted four-leaf patterned “Alhambra” jewelry collection, Maison’s history is richer and longer than you think. The brand began with the wedding between Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels. Both founders came from the family of jewelry merchants and opened their first boutique in Paris in 1906.

Courtesy of van Cleef & Arpels

“Eternal Moment” It is an amazing ode to the 100th anniversary of the Decorative Arts Performance in 1925. Van Cleef & Arpels wins Grand Prix Interwoven flowers, red and white rose bracelets (1924), the exhibition appeared. The show is appropriately held at the Teien Museum of Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Metropolitan, a masterpiece of art deco architecture that deserves your own appreciation. Here is a view of admiring 250 pieces of jewelry and Van Cleef & Arpels’ heritage and private collection, a rare opportunity, many of which are historical treasures.

when: September 27 to January 18
Where: Tokyo Metropolitan Teen Museum (Google Maps)
*need Pre-register1,400 yen per adult

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