Billionaire Maezawa rings in new era for art in Japan

Tokyo

WITH a single post on Instagram, Yusaku Maezawa announced not only his purchase of a US$110.5 million Basquiat masterpiece, and his place in auction history, but arguably signalled a new era for art in Japan.

The price, a record for the artist, is reminiscent of 1980s Japan when corporate big-spenders splashed out on Impressionist art - along with foreign property and businesses - in an asset-buying spree.