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Tokyo Gendai 2025: 6 Galleries to Watch

Tokyo Gendai 2025: 6 Galleries to Watch
RYOJI IKEDA, data.scape [DNA], 2019, LCD monitor displays, computer, speakers, 68.4 x 364.5 cm. Photo by Kei Okano. © Ryoji Ikeda. Courtesy TARO NASU, Tokyo.

TARO NASU

Tokyo-based gallery TARO NASU will showcase works by artists from its roster, with highlights including work by Japanese composer and media artist Ryoji Ikeda. Renowned for his mesmerizing installations that merge sound, light, and scientific data, Ikeda explores the boundaries of human perception and our understanding of the universe. Earlier this year, he held his first US museum exhibition at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, and a solo exhibition of his work is currently on view at the National Asian Culture Center (ACC) in Gwangju, Korea.

SUN XUN, Original Animation Drawings of Magic Atlas - Luocha, 2022, colored woodblock relief, 30 x 45cm (x 3 pieces), 29.5 x 42cm (x 6 pieces), 29.5 x 84 cm. Courtesy the artist and ShanghART, Beijing/Shanghai/Singapore.

ShanghART

ShanghART, based in Shanghai with spaces in Beijing and Singapore, is presenting works by different generations of Chinese artists. Among the works on view are Sun Xun’s original woodblock prints for his feature-length animation Magic Atlas (2025). Weaving together political fables and dystopian narratives, Sun’s work embraces East Asia’s rich woodblock printing tradition and extends it into the realm of contemporary digital imagery.

KONSTANTIN BESSMERTNY, View of Lisbon in the Year of the Dragon (AD MDLXVIII), 2025, mixed media on canvas, 89.6 x 149.3 cm (framed). Courtesy the artist and Gallery EXIT, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s Gallery EXIT will present a solo booth featuring recent works by Macau-based artist Konstantin Bessmertny. Blending humor and surrealism, Bessmertny’s paintings often draw on Western art historical motifs to explore cross-cultural dynamics. A highlight is View of Lisbon in the Year of the Dragon (AD MDLXVIII) (2025), which reimagines the 16th-century Nanban trade between Portugal and Japan as an alien encounter. The work probes themes of faith, cultural identity, and colonialism through the the lens of an imagined Eastern traveler.

LU YANG, DOKU the Creator – Twelve Nidãnas, 2025, HD video, 3 min 43 sec. Courtesy the artist and BANK, Shanghai.

BANK

Shanghai-based BANK Gallery, which recently opened a new outpost in New York City, is bringing recent works by Liang Hao, Michael Lin, Wang Rui, Bony Ramirez, and Lu Yang. Lu’s video centers on DOKU, a digital avatar navigating a technological dystopia, engaging with Buddhist philosophy while exploring fundamental questions of consciousness, identity, and being.

KIM TSCHANG-YEUL, PK95002, 1995, acrylic and oil on canvas 162.2 x 130.3 cm. Courtesy the artist and PYO Gallery, Seoul.

Seoul’s PYO Gallery celebrates Korean masters in its booth, featuring works by leading conceptual artist Kwak Duck-Jun, who passed away last month. Kwak’s experimental practice spanned performance, video, installation, printmaking, and photography. Also on view is work by Kim Tschang-yeul, whose retrospective is currently on view at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, in Seoul.

SATOSHI OHNO, 占いの手引き, 2022, oil on canvas mounted on panel, 145.5 x 183.0 cm. Courtesy the artist and Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo.

Tomio Koyama Gallery, based in Tokyo with spaces in Roppongi, Kyobashi, and Tennoz, is presenting a solo booth of works by Japanese artist Satoshi Ohno. Drawing from the electric atmosphere of nightlife and rave culture, Ohno’s work explores themes of loss, nostalgia, and ephemerality, deeply rooted in his personal experiences.