More than 6000 art aficionados were eager to enter through the doors of Hikarie Hall over the weekend (Friday 26th and Saturday 27th May 2017) as Tokyo city hosted the third Tokyo International Art Fair organised by the Global Art Agency (GAA Ltd).
Hikarie Hall was arranged to perfection with over 150 artist and gallery stands from over 30 countries from around the world. The atmosphere was charged with positive vibes as visitors took in the wide range of original art available and took pieces they had purchased home.
Visitors were sipping away on Bombay Sapphire Cocktails sponsored by Bacardi Japan, whilst looking around to invest into a piece of original art.
Exhibitor Sabet from California who sold one of his original paintings "Snow Monkey" for a substantial price of $ 12,000. Was back again this year and performed some live painting sessions to the crowd of Tokyo. He said: "It has been yet again amazing and I'll forever be grateful to the GAA team! Cannot wait till next year!"
Exhibitor Victoriano said: "Tokyo International Art Fair 2017 has been an amazing experience, It was the first time I shown part of my new CMYK collection so I wasn't sure what to expect, but was overwhelmed by all the nice comments, and I sold my 2 star pieces. All in all a great event, thanks GAA team!"
The weekend culminated in the announcement on Saturday afternoon of the winner of the "Best Tokyo International Art Fair Artist" in by both the panel of judges and members of the public.
From left to right: LOC, Mr Vallve, Ms Dinnage, Ben Mori, Mr Maruhashi, Shinichi Tashiro.
Art by Shinichi Tashiro
First prize went to Japanese street artist Shinichi Tashiro (represented by TOKYO Gallery Singapore) Tashiro who is known for constructing highly inventive collages that make humorous commentaries on subjects from fashion to consumer culture. The second prize went to Ben Mori (represented by SEZON Art Gallery) who was born in Tokyo to a Japanese Father and an American Mother. After graduating from Keio Jr. High, he then attended school on the East Coast where he graduated from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in Graphic Design. And the third prize went to LOC Gallery (Hong Kong) LOC pride themselves for being a bridge for art, interior design and children's education, pushing the boundaries of what a traditional design firm should be - and our Jury agreed.
Organisers of the fair; Joëlle Dinnage and Natal Vallvé from the Global Art Agency added their appreciation to the city's reaction to the event and the enthusiasm they found from artists and visitors alike.
"TIAF 2017 was a great success not only for the big selection of exhibitors from all around the world. It was a window of what's going on in the contemporary art world nowadays due the best artists " Natal Vallvé said.
"We'll be back for more in 2018 and are already planning next year's event," they said.
For more information on next year's Tokyo International Art Fair and other forthcoming events, please visit www.tokyoartfair.com or www.globalartagency.com Like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GlobalArtAgency and follow us on Twitter
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