Osaka – Kansai is celebrated as the home of comedians, playwrights and traditional performers. Yet some of Japan’s most inventive contemporary visual artists are also working there — often with far less recognition than their counterparts in Tokyo.
That relative obscurity belies the region’s artistic pedigree. Encompassing major cities including Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, Kansai is the birthplace of Gutai, the influential postwar avant-garde movement known for its emphasis on materiality and performance. It has also produced some of Japan’s leading contemporary artists, including Kenji Yanobe, Kohei Nawa and Miwa Yanagi.
Today, the region’s art scene continues to expand, with emerging creators both refining their techniques and pushing experimental boundaries. Many of their works were on display last weekend at the 24th edition of Art Osaka, an international art fair featuring 60 galleries from 15 cities across Japan and East Asia, and Osaka Art & Design, a citywide showcase of art, design and craft held across galleries and public spaces that opened May 27 and continues through June 23.
