Kawano Shoko

Kawano Shoko was born in Oita City, Japan in 1957. He studied art at Midorigaoka High School. After graduation, he applied to the Tokyo University of Arts, the most prestigious and competitive art school in Japan. Driven to become a sculptor, Kawano stood for the entrance exam several times but was unable to gain admission.

After Kawano returned to Oita, a friend introduced him to local artist Morigami Jin, who had recently made waves with his modern and sculptural interpretations of the bamboo flower basket. Intrigued and excited, Kawano entered the Oita Prefectural Bamboo Craft Training and Support Center in 1989. After graduating, he studied under Morigami and was later mentored by Watanabe Chikusei II, a respected master of ajiro (twill) plaiting.

By 1996, Kawano was showing his works at regional and national exhibitions and taking orders from local wholesalers. In 2002, he won the Cotsen Bamboo Prize. His works are in the permanent collections of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in Charlotte, NC, as well as many prominent private collections.

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Artist Statement
BIO/CV
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BIO/CV

1957, Oita City, Japan

Education

1988

Admitted to Oita Prefectural Technical Institute, Department of Bamboo Art
Studied under Morigami Jin and Watanabe Chikusei, Shochikusai II’s brother

Exhibitions + Accolades

1991

Became independent
1996

Admitted to Kyoto City Art Exhibition
Admitted to the 31^st Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Western Division
1997

Admitted to the 32^nd Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Western Division
Admitted to the 44^th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
1998

Admitted to the 33^rd Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Western Division
1999

Admitted to the 34^th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Western Division
Admitted to the 35^th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Western Division
2000

Admitted to the 36^th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition, Western Division
Admitted to the 45^th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
2001

The Next Generation, University of Arkansas, Little Rock
Admitted to the 49^th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
Exhibited at Tigerman Himmel Gallery, Chicago, IL
The Classic Japanese Basket, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2002

Special Demonstration at International Asian Art Fair, New York, NY
Exhibited in the Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, VA
Winner of Cotsen Bamboo Prize
2003

Weavers of Wonder, Naples Museum, FL
2006

Power & Delicacy: Master Works of Japanese Bamboo Art, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Art, Grinnell College, IA and Chicago Cultural Center, IL
2009

Received award at the 12th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Wood and Bamboo Exhibition
2013

Oita’s Art Movement, in partnership with the Oita Prefectural Government, a museum-quality show, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2014

Group show, Japanese American Cultural Community Center, Los Angeles, CA
2015

Japanese Bamboo and the World Expo: A Century of Discovery, Japanese Friendship Gardens, San Diego, CA
2016

Solo Exhibition, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, NM
Discovering Japanese Bamboo Art: The Rusty & Ann Harrison Collection, Herron School of Art & Design, Indianapolis, IN
2017

Masterpieces of Japanese Bamboo Art, TAI Modern at Joan B. Mirviss LLC, New York, NY
Asahi Newspaper Prize, 64^th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition
Tewaza no Bi – Bamboo Baskets from the Collection of Peter Shinbach, Portland Japanese Gardens, Portland, OR
2020

Winter Shadows, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, NM

Spring is Here, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, NM

Museum Collections

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, CA
Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, NC
Beppu City Traditional Bamboo Craft Art Museum
Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

ARTIST STATEMENT

I was brought up near the ocean. The nearby seashore was my playground. I was fascinated by the forms and shapes of the sea creatures living there and of the shells and rocks that I collected. My interest in sculpture grew during my high school years. An image of Michelangelo’s Pietà made a huge impact on me, and I really wanted to become a sculptor. Over time, I realized that bamboo was my medium. Unlike stone or metal, bamboo has an incredible lightness and pliability that is unique. I like the duality of this medium’s delicacy and strength. Each strip of bamboo I cut is very strong yet so fine and flexible. When the strips are interlaced using open twill plaiting, I can shape the basket into rounded forms using only the natural tension of the bamboo. With the help of urushi, a tree sap lacquer applied as a finish, my baskets appear both transparent and solid at the same time.

I try to express my creativity mostly within the vessel form. Every time I work in my studio, however, I think sculpturally. My consciousness moves from lines to planes, from planes to three dimensional forms, and from three dimensional forms to space. Bamboo is most beautiful standing in a grove that is being swayed by the wind. I cut the bamboo down, split and shave the culms, manipulate the cut strips as I have planned, and hope to create something worthy of its natural beauty. What can I add to something that is already beautiful? Were all my efforts in vain? I ask myself these questions all the time. I can express myself through this medium and continue asking the same questions, as long as someone tells me that they see beauty in my work.

PRESS RELEASE: TAI Modern at Art Miami 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TAI Modern at Art Miami 2017 December 5th– 10th, 2017 One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL Contact: Arianna Borgeson Arianna@taimodern.com (505) 984-1387 TAI Modern is pleased to announce its participation in the 28thyear of Art Miami. This year’s fair will be held at a new location at One Herald Plaza, on 14thStreet between […]
PRESS RELEASE: TAI Modern at Asia Week New York
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TAI Modern at Asia Week New York Realization of Form: Masterworks of Japanese Bamboo Art March 15th– 24th, 2018 Exhibiting at Jason Jacques Gallery 29 East 73rd St, Apt. 1 New York, NY 10021 NEW YORK, NEW YORK—TAI Modern is pleased to announce its participation in Asia Week New York 2018. The […]

PRESS RELEASE: TAI Modern at Art Miami 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TAI Modern at Art Miami 2017
December 5^th– 10^th, 2017
One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL

Contact:
Arianna Borgeson
Arianna@taimodern.com
(505) 984-1387

TAI Modern is pleased to announce its participation in the 28^thyear of Art Miami. This year’s fair will be held at a new location at One Herald Plaza, on 14^thStreet between the Venetian and MacArthur Causeways. Art Miami opens with a VIP preview on Thursday, December 5^th, and runs through Sunday, December 10^th. TAI Modern will be exhibiting recent works by contemporary Japanese bamboo masters, as well as contemporary American artists of various media.

For TAI Modern’s return to the fair, the gallery will present works which reflect the continued development of the Japanese bamboo arts. Representing over 35 artists in this medium, including Living National Treasure Fujinuma Noboru, TAI Modern has been the premier gallery for contemporary Japanese bamboo art for over 20 years. Other noteworthy bamboo artists include Honda Syoryu, Fujitsuka Shosei, and Nagakura Kenichi, who each exemplify varying traditional and regional aesthetics with their unique sculptural styles. These artists have pieces in several major American museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is featuring its first exhibit of Japanese bamboo art.

To compliment the selection of Japanese bamboo, TAI Modern will also feature works by contemporary American painters Erik Benson, Siobhan McBride, and Monique van Genderen. Benson’s work is highly detailed with an urban edge, creating cityscapes with his signature technique of cutting shapes from acrylic paint and applying them to canvas. McBride’s work is fragmented and dream-like, her subject matter and color choice represent a combination of the mundane and unfamiliar. In contrast, van Genderen’s work focuses more on the versatility of her color and her use of direct brushstrokes, which result in highly lyrical compositions.

For more information about Art Miami or to request a pass to the fair, please contact Arianna Borgeson at arianna@taimodern.com, or (505) 984-1387.

PRESS RELEASE: TAI Modern at Asia Week New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TAI Modern at Asia Week New York
Realization of Form: Masterworks of Japanese Bamboo Art
March 15^th– 24^th, 2018

Exhibiting at Jason Jacques Gallery
29 East 73rd St, Apt. 1
New York, NY 10021

NEW YORK, NEW YORK—TAI Modern is pleased to announce its participation in Asia Week New York 2018. The exhibition, Realization of Form: Masterworks of Japanese Bamboo Art, will be on view March 15-23 at Jason Jacques Gallery, 29 East 73rd St, Apt. 1, New York, NY. An opening party will take place Friday, March 16^th, 6-9 pm.

For TAI Modern’s first year participating in Asia Week, the gallery will present both historic and contemporary works which exemplify the dialogue that occurs between the artist and the bamboo. “Bamboo art is a material specific art,” Director of Japanese Art Koichi Okada explains. “This exhibition explores the relationship between artists and their chosen medium. Monozukuriis a term often used by Japanese artists and craftsmen. It can be described as ‘the process of creating an object in harmony with the medium through pride of craftmanship.’”

Veteran artists often speak of the necessity of listening to the bamboo. One might wait years to find the right bamboo for a basket or the right form for a particular piece of bamboo. Artist Tanioka Aiko described her bond with the material, saying “This medium gives me joy and challenges me…Bamboo is both delicate and powerful. It is not a tame material to shape according to my desire. It gives me joy when my will and the will of the bamboo fit together nicely.”

Among the more than 30 bamboo artists in the exhibition are noteworthies such as 101-year old Monden Kogyoku, Living National Treasure Fujinuma Noboru, and cult-favorite Tanioka Shigeo, each of whom excel at expressing the unique character of bamboo. These artists are in several major American museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asian Art Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

TAI Modern has been the premier gallery for contemporary Japanese bamboo art for over 20 years, and currently represents over 35 artists in this medium. During Asia Week New York, TAI Modern’s exhibition at Jason Jacques Gallery will be available for viewing Monday through Saturday from 10am-6pm or by appointment.

For more information, please contact Arianna Borgeson at arianna@taimodern.comor (505) 984-1387.