This October marks yet another incredible month of art in Japan, capturing the spirit of “geijutsu no aki” — the “autumn of art.” Following September, which saw the inauguration of international art events like the Aichi Triennale and Tokyo Gendai, October is packed with must-see exhibitions and installations across Japan, including the Setouchi Triennale‘s autumn session. In Tokyo alone, there’s a plethora of gallery shows and art exhibitions to check out. Here are seven of our picks in the city, with a strong focus on photography.
Doyeon Gwon, Bukhansan #White Mouth, 2019
T3 Photo Festival
Founded by Director Hayami Ihiro, T3 is a recurring photography festival that gives artists an opportunity to present their works in an international forum. The project consists of several events: a festival, a photo fair and a development program for new talent.
This year’s festival, revolving around the theme of “City as Garden,” reimagines various urban spaces as landscapes for curators to “plant” artworks. It will take place in 15 venues across Ginza, Kyobashi, Yaesu and Nihonbashi. Some highlights include works by American photographer Stephen Shore, a master of the New Color Movement; Dutch photographer Melissa Schriek, who balances fiction and reality in her poetic portraits; and a retrospective on the history of Japanese women photographers from 1950s onwards through photobooks, drawing upon the book I’m So Happy You Are Here (2024).
The photo fair, T3 Photo Asia (T3PA), brings together works from a variety of galleries across Asia. Highlights include a “Masters” section showcasing legendary Chinese photographer Lang Jingshan, who incorporates the visual language of classical Chinese landscape painting into his pieces.
©︎ LANG JingShan, Majestic Solitude, 1934, printed later, gelatin silver print, 49.5 x 37.5 cm – LANG Jingshan
The “Discover New Asia” section presents installations by Risaku Suzuki (Japan), Doyeon Gwon (South Korea) and Robert Zhao Renhui (Singapore), exploring “The Shape of Asian Landscapes: Then and Now.”
Check out T3 Photo Festival Tokyo and T3 Photo Asia on Instagram for details and updates.
When: October 4 – 27 (Festival), October 11 – 13 (Fair)
Where: Various Venues
Thomas Ruff, Substrat 41 III, 2009, courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi
Thomas Ruff: Two of Each
Experimental German photographer Thomas Ruff will hold a much-anticipated solo exhibition “Two of Each” at Gallery Koyanagi starting this October. As the name of the exhibition suggests, two pieces from each of his representative series — “Substrate,” “negatives,” “flower.s” and “untitled#” — will be shown.
Ruff’s series “Substrate,” which garnered significant attention when it was used as one of the main visuals for the Mori Art Museum’s inaugural exhibition in 2003, represents his ongoing deconstruction of the image. Using digitalized Japanese anime and comics, Ruff created evocative abstract swirls to highlight the subjective nature of photographic reality. The artist will be present at the exhibition reception from 5–7 p.m. on Saturday, October 18.
When: October 18 – December 13
Where: Gallery Koyanagi (Google Maps)
Andy Warhol, Self-Portraits (1977-1986). © The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Adagp, Paris 2025. Courtesy of Fondation Louis Vuitton Paris. Photo credits: © Primae / Louis Bourjac
Andy Warhol: Serial Portraits
After a few months of closure, Espace Louis Vuitton in the heart of Omotesando is making a return with an homage to Andy Warhol, one of the most well-known contemporary artists of all time. Considered a pioneer of the pop art movement, Warhol often blurred the boundaries between high culture and mass production, challenging artistic hierarchies and the commodification of objects, celebrities and art.
The exhibition, titled “Andy Warhol: Serial Portraits,” features a selection of Warhol’s portrait-themed works from the Fondation Louis Vuitton’s collection, ranging from masterpieces to lesser-known works. This traveling exhibition is part of the “Hors-les-murs” (Beyond the Walls) program, which will take place at Espace Louis Vuitton locations in Tokyo, Munich, Venice, Beijing, Seoul and Osaka.
When: October 2 – February 15
Where: Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo (Google Maps)
Issey Miyake: Folded Forms, Formed Reflections
“Issey Miyake: Folded Forms, Formed Reflections” celebrates the innovative legacy of the late Japanese designer Issey Miyake, who was renowned for his technology-driven approach to fashion. Specifically, the show focuses on the “folding structures” that are central to the creation of the 132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE brand — which combines sustainable materials with the structural principles of three-dimensional origami folding. This method yields garments that are both environmentally conscious and visually striking.
Featuring installations and videos that visualize how these fold designs are incorporated into the clothes, the exhibit offers a glimpse into the brand’s creative process. It also highlights the brand’s history of unique garment techniques, developed in collaboration with artisans across Japan.
When: September 1 – November 11
Where: Issey Miyake Ginza / 445 (Google Maps)
courtesy of spiral / Leica
Leica 100 Years: A Century of Witnessing the World
Commemorating 100 years of Leica, Spiral Garden in Omotesando will hold an exhibition that captures the German camera brand’s history and photographic culture. In the gallery’s spacious carpeted atrium, visitors can find a lineup of rare and special edition Leica cameras from past to present, as well as a 100 photographs curated by Karin Rehn-Kaufmann (president and art director Leica Gallery International).
©︎ Shoji Ueda, courtesy of Spiral / Leica
Another highlight is a visual dialogue between photographer Shoji Ueda and singer-songwriter Masaharu Fukuyama. Widely regarded as one of Japan’s master photographers, Ueda gained much acclaim for his dreamlike Sand Dune landscape series set in his home prefecture, Tottori. His staged compositions also stood out for their painterly execution and whimsy during a Japanese photography’s post-war period of social realism. Fukuyama, who regards Ueda as his mentor, will display his photography alongside Ueda’s for the first time.
Visitors can also look forward to Leica Hall of Fame Award-winning works by photographers from around the world, from the years 2011–2024.
When: October 18 – October 26
Where: Spiral Garden (Spiral 1F) (Google Maps).
* Requires Advance Registration.
Shinro Ohtake: Retina
Leading Tokyo gallery Take Ninagawa will present a solo exhibition by Shinro Ohtake this fall and winter. Born in Tokyo in 1955, Ohtake is a prolific contemporary artist known for his densely layered collages and unique, multidimensional visual language. Often utilizing found objects, ephemera, magazines and more, Ohtake crafts textured worlds at once familiar and surreal, orderly and chaotic. His works explore themes of memory, nostalgia and identity.
Ohtake has been producing the “Retina” series since the 1980s, inspired by exposed test film meant to be discarded. Stretching the traces of light remaining on the film then coating it with a urethane resin, he created two distinct elements — the plane of the photographic image and the transparent coating — which are unified through the viewer’s retina as a new image. These compositions are studies on the mechanisms of perception, shifting with photographic chemical reactions and the effects of time.
When: October 11 – January 17
Where: Take Ninagawa (Google Maps)
Eternal Moments: Van Cleef & Arpels
Although Van Cleef & Arpels is most often recognized today for their coveted four-leaf motif “Alhambra” jewelry line, the maison has a much richer, longer history than you might realize. The brand started with a wedding between Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels; both founders came from families of jewelry merchants, and opened their first boutique in Paris in 1906.
courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels
“Eternal Moments” is a stunning ode to the 100th anniversary of the 1925 Art Deco Exposition eponymous to the hugely influential aesthetic movement. Van Cleef & Arpels won Grand Prix awards with pieces like Intertwined Flowers, Red and White Rose Bracelet (1924), which is featured at the exhibition. The show is fittingly hosted at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, an Art Deco architectural masterpiece worth admiring on its own. It’s a rare chance to admire 250 pieces of jewelry and watches from Van Cleef & Arpels’ Patrimony and private collections, many of which are historical treasures.
When: September 27 – January 18
Where: Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Museum (Google Maps)
*Requires Advance Registration, ¥1,400 per adult
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