Message from the CEO
Japan holds a great deal of value the world has yet to discover.
Fine modern paintings brought into Japan from overseas during the bubble era. Modern Japanese art and ceramics quietly passed down through families. Contemporary Japanese artists whose international reputations are still taking shape. Japan’s art market remains small for the size of its economy, at roughly 1% of the global market. Put another way, the value of Japanese art has yet to fully reach the market.
I began my career in investment banking in 2011 and have since worked in M&A advisory, LBO finance and principal investment. Working with companies and capital, I became convinced that even excellent assets do not realize their value without the right stewards and the right channels to market. Art is no exception.
Since our founding in 2020, Catalyst Art Investments has been guided by one idea: bringing new value and liquidity to dormant art assets. We pursue it through two pillars. The first is strengthening the very foundations of art distribution in Japan by investing in and helping to manage art-related companies. The second is responsibly taking on works that come to market through inheritance or business succession, and connecting them with the right markets and collectors in Japan and abroad. Our participation in the management of Shinwa Wise Holdings, a listed auction house, was a major step on this path.
Our name, Catalyst, reflects who we want to be: not the protagonist, but the one who stands between artworks and people, assets and markets, Japan and the world, and sets new movement in motion.
Peace of mind for those who part with their works, and genuine encounters for those who seek them. Together with you, we will build a market in which Japanese art receives the recognition it deserves.