While many people in Japan undoubtedly know someone who owns a brand name handbag, few may know anyone who owns a work of art. If Tokyo-based artist Satoshi Maruhashi has his way, that will soon change.

"In Japan, houses are small, but some people might have good cars — but very few people have good art," he tells The Japan Times.

Maruhashi runs his own design office in Toshima Ward and is an organizer of the Tokyo International Art Fair (TIAF), a two-day event operated by Global Art Agency, Ltd. that starts May 26 at Shibuya Hikarie Hall in Tokyo.