Tucked behind a gas station on a side street out near the Sumida River, a 12-minute walk from the nearest subway station, the Shinkawa Building is not the easiest place to find on Tokyo's art map. But the nondescript two-story structure is a worthwhile visit for anyone interested in Japanese contemporary art. A trio of Tokyo's leading gallery owners are based here.
After some 18 months of operation, all three Shinkawa galleries -- Tomio Koyama, Taka Ishii and ShugoArts -- opened solo shows last Saturday featuring Japanese artists, and the whole-building vernissage drew a good crowd of young people, art illuminati and collectors. The exhibitions work fairly well together, and so this month is a good time to trek out to Shinkawa for a look.
The first-floor Tomio Koyama Gallery has sculpture and paintings by a 35-year-old artist known simply as "Mr." To say that Mr. is involved with Koyama stablemate and international Neo-Pop sensation Takashi Murakami would be an understatement. The garish otaku pomp that is Mr.'s work essentially mirrors Murakami's early "Superflat" work, which is not surprising as Mr. is a member of the "Kaikai Kiki" team that works out of Murakami's phantasmagoric Hiropon Factory up in Saitama.