Nagakura Kenichi (1952-2018), Stardust, 2003, madake bamboo and mixed media, 17.5 x 19 x 16 in.

Nagakura Kenichi: A Retrospective
June 28 – July 20, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, June 28 from 5-7pm
1601 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM 87501

TAI Modern is honored to open the retrospective exhibit of acclaimed bamboo artist Nagakura Kenichi (1952-2018) this summer.

Nagakura visited Santa Fe every other year for nearly two decades, meeting art lovers and collectors at the openings for his nine solo shows at TAI Modern. He and his wife Kayoko made many friends in the process. His tenth solo show would have opened in the summer of 2018 if not for his untimely death that year. Since then, TAI Modern has looked forward to mounting a retrospective exhibition to honor Nagakura’s creative genius, and to also, in a sense, bring him back to his friends in Santa Fe. This June, they can finally give him his tenth solo exhibition.

Nagakura lived a life of profound experimentation, incorporating unconventional materials like bamboo roots, washi paper, and driftwood collected from local shores on daily walks, as well as inventing new techniques that evoked the patina and texture of centuries-old bamboo, bronze, rock, wood, cloth and natural phenomena like nests, webs, and cocoons. First and foremost, he was an artist, and it was through his connection to bamboo that he could express that creative drive.

Showing with TAI Modern since the very start of the gallery’s focus on Japanese bamboo in 1997, Nagakura was the first recipient of the Cotsen Bamboo Prize in 2000 and exhibited internationally throughout his career. This retrospective marks the first time that Nagakura’s paintings will be exhibited to the public.

To view the online exhibition catalog, click here.

To learn more about the exhibit, click here.