SANTA FE, NM.- TAI Modern is presenting Kawano Shoko, the gallery's second solo exhibition of work by Japanese bamboo artist Kawano Shoko, on view from July 31 through August 22. This exhibition arrives ten years after the artists first show at TAI Modern and follows upon his being awarded Japan’s Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2024.

Constructed from finely prepared bamboo strips, woven with the artist’s signature sukashi-ajiro (open twill plaiting), Kawano's works emphasize organic form, openness, and the natural flexibility of bamboo. Space and rhythm are integral to each composition. Kawano frequently adds an exterior layer of carved, parallel bamboo plates to an open twill-plaited form, based on a technique learned from Hayakawa Shōkōsai V during the Living National Treasure workshops he led in 2006–07. Ten years after Kawano's first solo presentation at TAI Modern, Kawano Shoko brings together a body of work grounded in centuries of craftsmanship while continuing to evolve its vocabulary into contemporary expression.

Originally aspiring to become a sculptor, Kawano found in bamboo the expressive possibilities of three-dimensional form while embracing the discipline and technical rigor of the Beppu bamboo tradition. Over the past thirty-eight years, he has developed a distinctive sculptural language that balances structural precision with remarkable lightness and fluidity.





Now, at sixty-eight, Kawano reflects on his practice from a new vantage point. As opportunities to teach and mentor younger artists have become an increasingly important part of his life, the transmission of knowledge has emerged alongside artistic production as a central concern. “I feel a sense of responsibility to pass on the skills I have cultivated over many years,” Kawano said. “I am touched by their pure passion and sensibility toward craftsmanship, and they provide me with fresh and valuable inspiration that cannot be replaced by technical skill alone.”

Kawano Shoko was born in 1957 in Oita Prefecture, Japan. Starting in 1991, he attended the Beppu Bamboo Craft Training Center and studied under master bamboo artists Morigami Jin and Watanabe Chikusei II. Kawano's honors include the 2002 Cotsen Bamboo Prize, the 2022 President's Award — the highest honor given by the Japan Traditional Craft Arts Association — and the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2024, one of Japan's highest civilian honors. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in major public and private collections in Japan and the United States.