Tanabe Chikuunsai IV & Apprentices: Tradition & Innovation

SANTA FE, NM – TAI Modern is delighted to announce the upcoming group show, Tradition and Innovation: Tanabe Chikuunsai IV and Apprentices. Led by master artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, this exhibition invites the viewer to glimpse the future of Japanese bamboo art. Driven to carry on the tradition of apprenticeship in Japan, Tanabe Chikuunsai IV’s studio currently hosts 10 apprentices, seven of whom have been invited to show at TAI Modern for the first time. They are Tashima Shiun, Nakamura Emika, Honda Yoko, Sano Kayoko, Hayashi Junpei, Ichikawa Yona, and Shimizu Yuki. As bamboo is always a family affair for the Tanabe family, Tradition and Innovation also features the work of Tanabe Mitsuko, Chikuunsai’s mother and bamboo master in her own right.

The Tanabe Chikuunsai lineage is the only surviving lineage of the great lineages in Japanese bamboo art, with a studio just outside of Osaka that is currently training its fifth generation. It is a lasting commitment to tradition paired with innovation that has allowed the Tanabe family to foster the next generation of bamboo artists. And, in the art world, it is hard to miss Tanabe Chikuunsai IV. From his colossal installations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at TAI Modern in 2019, to recent international exhibitions and an ongoing collaboration with the fine fashion house Loewe, Tanabe has emerged as a leader and representative for a younger generation of bamboo artists.

The exhibition promises to be a debut of the highest caliber, with the artists expressing ideas and feelings about childhood, time, and the visceral sense of being aware of one’s own organs. The experience of the self as one with the natural world is a common theme throughout. Tanabe’s Decayed Bamboo series will make its first US appearance. In these works, the bamboo twists and tangles with a feral energy, crowned with an abstracted handle made from a withered section of felled bamboo.

“Each generation of Chikuunsai has enjoyed taking on new challenges while carrying on the tradition. Innovating tradition while carrying on tradition is a contradiction of terms and a very difficult task,” Tanabe states. “However, I believe that friendly competition with the younger generation and the discovery of new concepts will lead bamboo art to a new future.”

We are happy to host Tanabe Chikuunsai IV and apprentices Hayashi Junpei, Ichikawa Yona, and Nakamura Emika at the opening at 1601 Paseo de Peralta on Friday, July 26 from 5–7pm, with an artists’ walkthrough on Saturday, July 27, beginning at 2pm. We hope you will be able to join us for this celebration of the future of bamboo art.