12 best art exhibitions in Tokyo right now

Master painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) is best known for Impressionist works that captured on canvas the ceaseless transitions of nature. As explored by this major exhibition, however, in the later years of his career, this French artist pursued a more abstract approach, with inspiration coming from both personal and wider realities such as bereavement, his own eye disease and the First World War.

The natural world remained Monet’s ostensible subject matter, such as his signature water lily ponds and their surrounding trees and skies, but his depictions of such scenes were then additionally coloured by internal distress.

For this show, around 50 pieces from Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris have been brought over to Japan, with many being shown in the country for the very first time. These are augmented by works held in collections across Japan, to form an expansive look at Monet’s later career.

The highlight here is a large screen of water lilies, which stands over two metres tall and makes for a truly immersive experience.

What Museum’s latest exhibit, Synesthesia, is an interactive one. This engaging showcase is the work of a Japanese artist who uses air, water and light to craft mesmerising sculptures that blur the lines between perception and reality. 

With a background in sociology and art education, Akihito Okunaka is inspired by late philosopher Bruno Latour to explore the connections between nature and society through our five senses. Here you get to touch, enter and lie down in a balloon-like installation and feel connected with your surroundings.

The 12-metre in diameter balloon sculpture is weighed down by a water 'bed' and bathed in different light frequencies. This multi-sensorial work promises a visual and tactile experience that blurs the lines between sight and touch. Imagine light refracting through multiple layers of translucent plastic film, creating a kaleidoscope of colours that dance across the surface, all while being swayed gently by the water bed.

What Museum, in Tokyo waterfront district Tennozu, presents an ‘inadvertent’ collection of contemporary art belonging to renowned tech and AI entrepreneur, Takafumi Takahashi. The ‘T2 Collection’, which takes its name from owner’s initials, has been amassed over the past six years as Takahashi gradually dived deeper into the world of modern art. Along the way he picked up works which captivated him in some way, by notable Japanese and international artists including Kohei Nawa, Barry McGee and Tatsuo Miyajima. What was never consciously acquired with a ‘collection’ in mind is now on public display for the first – and possibly only – time.

Across the 35 diverse works featured here, a common thread is Takahashi’s recognition of a connection between art and entrepreneurship, in that the leading players in both spheres challenge the world with unique and unprecedented concepts and visions. One exhibition room, dedicated to the medium of photography, explores how contemporary artists have developed their photographic expression amid a rapid rate of change in both technology and the role of images in society.