TAI Modern

TAI Modern Contemporary Art + Japanese Bamboo

TAI Modern is a Santa Fe-based fine arts gallery dedicated to exhibiting and supporting contemporary art in a variety of media, with a particular focus on Japanese bamboo art and baskets. We are committed to building the careers of our artists, providing expertise and guidance to collectors and presenting compelling exhibitions.

Beginning with a single bamboo culm selected from the forest,   Fujinuma Noboru carves the material to accentuate its na...
04/15/2026

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:...
04/08/2026

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)

“Japanese Bamboo Art: Tradition and Transformation” opens this week in New York as part of Asia Week New York 2026. Exhi...
03/18/2026

“Japanese Bamboo Art: Tradition and Transformation” opens this week in New York as part of Asia Week New York 2026. Exhibiting at COLNAGHI from March 19–23 (11AM–5PM daily), with an opening reception on Thursday, March 19 from 5–7PM.

"Kobako: The Art of Enclosure" opens tomorrow in the gallery, with Jacqui Ghosin in attendance! We hope you will join us...
11/21/2025

"Kobako: The Art of Enclosure" opens tomorrow in the gallery, with Jacqui Ghosin in attendance! We hope you will join us to celebrate the opening of this curatorial vignette from 5-7PM on Friday, 11/21 at 1601 Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe.
Pictured: "Japanese Cubism", 2025, mixed media artist's box, 4 x 5.5 x 5.5 in.

"Kobako: The Art of Enclosure" opens THIS Friday, November 21, from 5-7PM at 1601 Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe! This cur...
11/19/2025

"Kobako: The Art of Enclosure" opens THIS Friday, November 21, from 5-7PM at 1601 Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe! This curatorial vignette features the handcrafted artist boxes of Jacqui Ghosin, shown along Japanese bamboo works from the gallery's artists. We hope you will join us in the gallery with the artist, Jacqui Ghosin, on Friday evening—we'll see you soon!
Pictured: "Mother of Pearl and Abalone Inlay", 2024, mixed media artists box, 2.5 x 7.5 x 4 in.

Join us next Friday, November 21, for the artist's reception of the curatorial vignette, "Kobako: The Art of Enclosure" ...
11/11/2025

Join us next Friday, November 21, for the artist's reception of the curatorial vignette, "Kobako: The Art of Enclosure" from 5-7PM with Jacqui Ghosin. We are excited to welcome the 2025 holiday season with this spotlight on Ghosin's artist boxes, shown alongside Japanese bamboo pieces from our gallery artists. She says, "From there, I became intrigued with creating a ‘box’ that might not house anything inside but would, instead, yield surprising relationships. Either something unexpected would be revealed upon opening the piece, or the construction itself would be intriguing, or the inclusion of seemingly incongruous materials that were, upon reflection, quite harmonious.”
We'll see you soon!
Pictured: a detail and closed images of "Gods of the Sky: Thunder and Lightning", 2024, 2.75 x 12.25 x 11.25 in.

We invite you to "Kobako: The Art of Enclosure", a curatorial vignette opening on November 21 in the gallery from 5-7PM....
11/04/2025

We invite you to "Kobako: The Art of Enclosure", a curatorial vignette opening on November 21 in the gallery from 5-7PM. Featuring the works of Jacqui Ghosin, "Kobako" focuses on artist's boxes shown alongside Japanese bamboo works from the gallery's collection.

Jacqui Ghosin’s background is in graphic design. She earned her graduate degree from the Allgemeine Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland and then worked in Munich, Germany, for two years. She then returned to the States and worked for Addison Design Consultants and Landor Associates in San Francisco before opening her own firm, Design One, with two other partners. In 2016, after twenty-five successful years, she and her team retired.

Ghosin’s interest in creating boxes was sparked after seeing another artist’s works. That fascination further blossomed with the introduction to the world of Japanese silk-screened papers; a natural progression that her years of professional graphic design work was well-suited for. She says, “From there, I became intrigued with creating a ‘box’ that might not house anything inside but would, instead, yield surprising relationships. Either something unexpected would be revealed upon opening the piece, or the construction itself would be intriguing, or the inclusion of seemingly incongruous materials that were, upon reflection, quite harmonious.”

Jacqui Ghosin will attend the opening.

Stay tuned for more information—we will see you soon!

Image: a detail of "Cherry Blossoms (Offset Opening)", 2024, 3.25 x 9.25 x 6.5 in.

A reminder that “Suemura Shobun” closes tomorrow, October 4. Today and tomorrow, we are open from 10AM-5PM, and invite y...
10/03/2025

A reminder that “Suemura Shobun” closes tomorrow, October 4. Today and tomorrow, we are open from 10AM-5PM, and invite you to join us to celebrate the remarkable career of Osaka’s son. Learn more at our website!
Pictured: Purple Bamboo, 1970s to 1980s, black bamboo, 12.5 x 8.25 x 8.25 in.

“Suemura Shobun” has been installed and we are excited to welcome you to the gallery TONIGHT from 5-7PM for the opening ...
08/29/2025

“Suemura Shobun” has been installed and we are excited to welcome you to the gallery TONIGHT from 5-7PM for the opening of this exhibition! See you soon!

"Suemura Shobun" opens THIS Friday, August 29, from 5-7PM in the gallery on the Santa Fe Railyards! Join us to celebrate...
08/27/2025

"Suemura Shobun" opens THIS Friday, August 29, from 5-7PM in the gallery on the Santa Fe Railyards! Join us to celebrate the artist's entire career, spanning across fifty-plus years. With a particular emphasis on the stunning techniques achieved with bent black bamboo, this once in a lifetime exhibition celebrates the artistic innovation of one of Osaka's best. We look forward to welcoming you to the gallery!
Learn more at the ⛓️‍💥🎋
Pictured:
(1) "Wing", 1976, black bamboo and rattan, 9.25 x 29.25 × 11 in.
(2) "Hedge", 1958, madake bamboo and rattan, 6 x 25.25 x 8.25 in.

Address

1601 Paseo De Peralta
Santa Fe, NM
87501

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+15059841387

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