A hotel room turns into a permanent gallery space! The Chelsea hotel in New York is known for the art fairs it hosts, and Agnes Hotel Art Fair 2008 is leading the scene in Tokyo.

At Agnes Hotel and Apartments Tokyo, a permanent residential hotel in Kagurazaka, the 4th annual art fair took place from Jan 11th to the 13th with about 2,500 art lovers flocking in. Among the participants were 33 contemporary galleries, from Japanese art scene leaders to emerging young bloods. Jumping from a white cube into a bed or bathroom, a contemporary art piece that is set up on purpose (or incidentally) gets closer to the context of our daily lives while showing the other side.

Frankly speaking, I am not that familiar with the Japanese art scene, therefore, it was my first time to see a few of the galleries for the first time even though I had heard their names before. Upon entry, Nezumi-Pikachu by Chim↑Pom greets you at Koenji’s hot gallery, from the Mujin-To Production section.

It gives you a gasp of surprise to see the millions-worth of art work by HELMUT NEWTON quietly in a case at a must see exhibit at, Gallerie SHO.