pace japan director tokyo interview 1234757210
Kyoko Hattori, vice president of Pace Japan, expressed her ambition for Tokyo to become the center of art in Asia in a recent interview with the Japan Times. This comes one month after the third edition of Tokyo Gendai art fair closed with solid but unspectacular sales. Pace, now the only mega-gallery with a location in Tokyo, opened a space in the $4 billion Azabudai Hills development, a move seen locally as evidence that Tokyo has arrived as an international art hub. The article notes cautiously optimistic data: Japan saw 2 percent growth in art sales last year while the wider market contracted by 12 percent, and its primary competitors China and Korea saw drops of 31 and 15 percent respectively.