TAI Modern

TAI Modern is pleased to present "Sencha to Sculpture: The Evolution of Japanese Bamboo Art to the 1960s", an exhibition following the transformation of Japanese bamboo art from tea ceremony utensils to sculptural form. This first installment of a planned three-part series brings together nearly 50 bamboo works and introduces pieces from the Minminsai lineage, including a signed basket by Kobayashi Minminsai I (d. 1791). This basket predates the work of Hayakawa Shokosai I (1815-1897), who has long been credited as the first Japanese bamboo artist to sign his work, identifying Minminsai I, rather than Hayakawa, as the earliest confirmed signer in the history of the medium.

The exhibition "Sencha to Sculpture: The Evolution of Japanese Bamboo Art to the 1960s" is on view at TAI Modern through October 10, 2026.

📷 Untitled Peony Basket, China or Japan, Edo to Meiji period, bamboo and rattan, 20.5 x 14.75 x 6.25 in. Image: Mankus Photography

A decade after Kawano Shoko's first solo exhibition at the gallery, TAI Modern is pleased to present his second solo exhibition, opening later this month.

Over the past ten years, Kawano’s work has changed in intriguing ways. Many recent works have a higher center of gravity, and their appearance is more responsive to changes in the angle of the light and the surrounding environment. Previously, many of his works featured geometric patterns created through the use of contrasting colors, such as bright yellow and black. However, in Kawano’s recent works, there has been an increase in pieces that employ a multi-colored palette with lower-contrast hues. When illuminated by strong light, the delicate, open twill weaving asserts its presence clearly, accompanied by a moiré effect; conversely, when placed in a dimly lit area with soft lighting, the various colors—such as red, black, brown, and yellow—blend together, giving the impression that the piece is softly and warmly suspended in the space.

KAWANO SHOKO
July 31 – August 22, 2026

OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, July 31, 5 – 7PM

ARTIST DEMONSTRATION
Saturday, August 1, 2PM

📷 Kawano Shoko "Passing Shower" 2018, madake bamboo, rattan, 7.25 x 15.5 x 15.5 in. Image: Mankus Photography.

"In Japan, a country prone to earthquakes, bamboo—a light and highly elastic material—makes perfect sense in spatial design. But more than that, I am convinced that the true essence of bamboo art lies in its ability to infuse modern, sterile spaces with the Japanese spirit and natural tranquility unique to bamboo. Of course, incorporating traditional materials into modern spaces comes with its own challenges. If we cling too tightly to traditional forms, the work will stand out in the space as a relic of the past. Furthermore, as the scale of the work increases, we must fundamentally reinvent conventional techniques. The process of interpreting the atmosphere of a space from mere blueprints and refining a concept is a multi-layered intellectual challenge distinct from studio production." - Nakatomi Hajime

Nakatomi Hajime's solo show at TAI Modern opens on Friday, June 26 with an opening reception from 5–7PM. An artist talk will follow on Saturday, June 27 at 2PM, with Nakatomi sharing more about his work and process.

NAKATOMI HAJIME
June 26 – July 25, 2026


OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, June 26, 5 – 7PM

ARTIST TALK
Saturday, June 27, 2PM

📷 1. "FLY: Shirabyoushi" 2023, madake bamboo, rattan, 29 x 31 x 16.5 in. Image: Minamoto Tadayuki (.minamoto)

📷 2. "FLY: Soaring Butterflies" 2023, madake bamboo, rattan, 181 x 97 x 107 in. Installation at The Magarigawa Club, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Image courtesy of artist.

Opening at TAI Modern this month is NAKATOMI HAJIME, the artist's first solo exhibition in the US. The exhibition brings together work from five series developed over more than two decades — Prism, Musubi, Auspicious 8, Frill, and FLY — work defined by a single animating question: what does it mean for something not to look like bamboo?

Rather than emphasizing material qualities or classical techniques and forms, Nakatomi embraces this paradoxical inquiry. His aim is to express the beauty of bamboo through colors, shapes, sizes, and materials not typically found in bamboo art. The most recent works in the exhibition combine bamboo with other materials, such as gold.

NAKATOMI HAJIME
June 26 – July 25, 2026

OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, June 26, 5 – 7PM

ARTIST TALK
Saturday, June 27, 2PM

📷 Nakatomi Hajime "FLY: stardust" 2023, madake bamboo, rattan, gold leaf, 17 x 17.5 x 15.5 in. Image: Minamoto Tadayuki

Beginning with a single bamboo culm selected from the forest, Fujinuma Noboru carves the material to accentuate its natural form, then applies more than one hundred layers of colored "urushi" lacquer, sanding back through the surface to reveal luminous strata of color beneath. After days of polishing, the result is a work of extraordinary surface complexity and compelling luster.

TAI Modern at Dallas Art Fair | April 16–19, 2026 | Fashion Industry Gallery, Booth C6

📷 Fujinuma Noboru “Lacquered Bamboo Cylinder (320)” 2020, moso bamboo, lacquer, 21 x 7 x 6.5 in

Japanese bamboo sculpture does not simply inherit tradition—it extends it.

Tradition is often imagined as a linear force: a set of inherited forms, rules, and timelines that promise continuity. Innovation, by contrast, arrives as a disruption – bending lines and rules, insisting on new ways of thinking and seeing. Fourth generation bamboo artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV is a master at balancing these opposing forces. His new series, “Action Clay,” bends inherited techniques toward new conceptual terrain. In “Creation Through Collapse – Five Cosmic Elements,” he paints an organic woven bamboo form with colored earth and sprays of black and white paint.

At this year's EXPO Chicago, TAI Modern brings together a group of artists whose work spans the full expressive range of bamboo as a sculptural medium, from intimate works of precision and sensitivity to large-scale sculptural forms that test the material's expressive limits.

"Warping Timelines: Tradition to Innovation" TAI Modern at EXPO CHICAGO 2026 | April 9–12, 2026 Navy Pier Festival Hall, Booth 302

📷 Tanabe Chikuunsai IV "Creation Through Collapse – Five Cosmic Elements" 2025, tiger bamboo, earth, paint, 27.5 x 14.5 x 25.5 in. (Image credit: Tadayuki Minamoto)