ART FAIR

Dallas Art Fair

The Sculptural Language of Bamboo
April 16–19, 2026
VIP Preview: Thursday, April 16, 5-9pm
Fair Hours: April 17-18, 11am-7pm; April 19, 11am-5pm
Booth #C6
Fashion Industry Gallery, 1807 Ross Avenue Dallas, TX

Within contemporary sculpture, certain materials carry centuries of cultural weight. Bronze evokes monument. Marble suggests classical permanence. Steel speaks to modern industry. Bamboo occupies a far more complex position — and right now, it’s at the center of one of the most compelling conversations in contemporary art.

April 16–19, we will bring a focused exhibition of Japanese bamboo art to the Dallas Art Fair, presenting works that demonstrate the artists’ extraordinary command of bamboo as a sculptural medium.

The Dallas Art Fair presentation showcases the extraordinary breadth of what contemporary bamboo artists are achieving today.

Beginning with a single bamboo culm selected from the forest, Living National Treasure 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.

Honda Syoryu’s Dance demonstrates how a seemingly simple cylindrical form and basic weaving technique can become something mesmerizing in the hands of a master. By controlling the spacing between the rows of twined bamboo strips, Honda produces an undulating, almost kinetic presence that shifts as the viewer moves around it.

Nakatomi Hajime’s hanging sculpture Auspicious 8: Whirlwind introduces a modular, architectural design. The structure, comprised of repeated figure-eights, activates the space around it with dramatic shadows.

Also on view are works by Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, Honma Hideaki, Kawano Shoko, Hasegawa Kei, Nagakura Kenichi, and Suemura Shobun.

To learn more and preview the exhibition, click here.

 

RECENT ASIA WEEK NEW YORK EXHIBITION

Japanese Bamboo Art: Tradition and Transformation

March 19 – 23, 2026
Exhibiting at: Colnaghi, 23 East 67th Street, 4th Floor
Opening Reception: Thursday March 19, 5-7pm
Special AWNY Hours: Daily, 11am-5pm

TAI Modern is thrilled to return to Asia Week, this time with Japanese Bamboo Art: Tradition and Transformation, an exhibition exploring the enduring dialogue between historical tradition and contemporary innovation in Japanese bamboo art. Weaving together historic and contemporary pieces, this presentation brings together works by artists across generations, demonstrating how the medium continues to evolve while remaining deeply rooted in traditional techniques and philosophies.

To learn more, click here.

 

About the Gallery

TAI Gallery was created by Robert T. Coffland, a leading expert in Japanese bamboo arts in the West, who began sourcing works from contemporary masters in Japan. The gallery moved from the founder’s home to a gallery space on Canyon Road, then to its current location in the Santa Fe Railyard in 2006.

Margo Thoma purchased the gallery in 2014 and merged it with her contemporary American art gallery, Eight Modern. Rebranded as TAI Modern, Thoma and renowned bamboo expert, Koichiro Okada, continue Coffland’s mission of building museum-quality collections.

Thoma supports and promotes bamboo art in the West by serving as an advisor to Western collectors and institutions, facilitating public demonstrations, and curating bamboo art exhibitions. She is a tireless collaborator and ally with and for senior artists across Japan, and sponsors aspiring bamboo artists to participate in national competitions. She has written essays for exhibition catalogs both in the U.S. and Japan and is a frequent public speaker on bamboo art.

Works by TAI Modern artists have been placed in some of the country’s most prestigious institutions, including the Art Institute of Chicago; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Mint Museum of North Carolina; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Denver Art Museum; Museum of Art and Design; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco.