TANAKA KYOKUSHO

Twill Plaited Jomon-Style Flower Basket, 2015, 14 ×11.5 ×11inches

The Tanaka family has owned and run a small bamboo shop in the center of Tokyo

for over100 years.Tanaka Kyokusho studied literature at one of Japan’s top universities

but, not long after graduating, felt pulled back to his bamboo heritage.To broaden his

training, he spent several years in Beppu, a small city on the island of Kyushu, attend-

ing their bamboo craft occupational school. Upon returning to his home in Tokyo,

Tanaka felt a need to develop a unique artistic style, one as modern and sophisti-

cated as the capital city itself.

The baskets and trays in this exhibition reflect Tanaka’s characteristic style in its full

maturity— the exceptional sense of proportion and scale, structural elegance, sophis-

ticated forms, pleasing symmetries, and a rich, burnished satin finish.The contrasting

black and orange colors and ornamental rattan stitching provide a sprightly counter-

point to the polished elegance of his forms.

One of the most consistent and recognizable elements of Tanaka’s work is the

color palette, which is dominated by black and a range of autumnal hues. The artist

puts much effort into finding the right ratio between black and the warmer tones

used in each artwork. Black creates a clean line and a powerful silhouette but often

underplays subtle surface contours. Tanaka’s woven russet and amber passages delin-

eate the sensual curves and twists and draw the eye from point to point through the

artwork.Tanaka’s use of color is reminiscent of gold in Japanese lacquerwork, shimmer-

ing out from a lustrous dark.

Tanaka is one of a very few bamboo artists to use natural dyes formulated from

plants and trees. He values this connection to tradition but has yet to find a vegetable

dye that can produce a true black. However, he is able to achieve an unusually deep

and intense black color in his pieces by double -dying the bamboo with both a red-

based black dye and a blue-based one. The perfectionism of his dying process is

matched by the planning Tanaka undertakes for each piece. Scale drawings, color

testing samples, comparison charts to determine the width of his bamboo strips—all

accrue before he begins a new work.

Tanaka works in the same studio and shop where his father and grandfather

worked and where he first learned to handle and prepare bamboo. He now shares

that studio with a promising young student, as well as his wife and son, who make

bamboo articles for the shop, allowing Tanaka to devote himself to creating the works

of art that have made him one of the most honored bamboo artists of his generation.

­­­­­­n TAI Modern, July 2015

Arrow Pattern Line Construction Tray, 2010, 3.75 ×13 ×13 inches

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ARTIST STATEMENT

When I was a boy, I tagged along with my grandfather and my father to harvest

bamboo timber in a forest near our house. My job was to collect all of the branches

that were clipped after the bamboo stalks were cut down. Bamboo is harvested in

the winter from December to February.

Throughout my career, I have made different styles of bamboo art. The color black

takes precedence in some of my works. I have a friend who builds custom-made

cars. He told me once, when he peeked through a telescope to glance over the city

of Tokyo from the top floor of the Tokyo Tower, that he spotted a black Mercedes-

Benz. I thought that was an interesting story.

The color black doesn't have a strong identity of its own. It therefore has the effect

of bringing out the colors surrounding it. This result is called an after image. Earlier in

my career, when my works were selected in the Dento Kogei exhibition for the first

time, I used green tea to dye them. At that time, I was interested in extracting the

natural characteristics of the works of art. Recently my main concern shifted to having

black as the foundation of the artwork using the other colors as accents. These accent

colors are derived from plants such as sappan wood, madder, gardenia, turmeric,

alder, and safflower. I like to use these pigments because they were passed down to

us craftsmen since ancient times. I find that they are very compatible with bamboo so

I have been incorporating them in my artworks for many years.

I like to express the tension that is much like the wire construction of the Golden

Gate Bridge through composition in line construction. I am also interested in the neg-

ative space as an important aspect of my composition. I like to use the metaphor of

sound that is created by the Japanese guitar called Shamisen. The deep sounds of

the Shamisen gradually disappear and create a pause in the music, but this pause,

without any sounds, is part of the composition in music.

I would be very pleased if you feel something soulful when you look at my work. ­­­­­­­­

n Tanaka Kyokusho, July 2015

Sensuji-gumi Open Weave Flower Basket, 2008,16.25 ×15.5 × 5.75 inches

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Sound of Wind, 2013, 8.5 × 21× 5.5 inches

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Leaping Carp (with Dragon Netsuke), 2013, 4.25 × 3.5 × 2 inchesFloating Bridge, 2011, 6.25 ×19.75 × 7.25 inches

Above: Embrace, 2012,11.25 ×11×11 inches

Right: Shimmering Air, 2015,10.25 ×6.75 × 6.75 inches

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Dawn, 2013, 2.75 × 20.25 × 6.75 inches

Above: Bamboo Leaf Boat, 2012, 8 ×19.75 × 7.25 inches

Left:Grass that Shimmers Crimson, 2014, 20.25 × 6.75 × 5.75 inches

Four Ocean Waves, 2011, 2.25 ×13 ×13 inches

Bamboo Leaf Boat I I, 2015, 9 × 21.5 × 8.75 inches

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Floating Bridge II, 2011, 7.5 ×19.75 ×11.75 inches

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TANAKA KYOKUSHO

1947 Born in Tokyo, Japan1972 Graduated from Waseda University1976 Graduated from Oita Prefectural Bamboo Craft and Training Support Center1979 Admitted to 19th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition for the first time (thereafter every year)

1980 Admitted to 27th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition for the first time (thereafter many times)

1984 Winner of Tokyo Educational Committee Award at 24th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1985 Judge at 25th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1988 Judge at 28th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1989 Winner of Mitsukoshi Department Store Award at 29th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Solo Exhibition at MOA Gallery, Nagoya1990 Winner of Tokyo Educational Committee Award at 4th Japan Traditional Craft Arts, Wood and Bamboo Exhibition Winner of Japan Craft Arts Association Chairman’s Award at 37th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Appeared on the NHK television program Sunday Art Museum1992 Judge at 5th Japan Traditional Craft Arts,Wood and Bamboo Exhibition1994 Winner of Japan Craft Art Association Award at 6th Japan Traditional Craft Arts,Wood and Bamboo Exhibition1996 Judge at 36th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition1997 Judge at 38th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Judge at 8th Japan Traditional Craft Arts,Wood and Bamboo Exhibition Judge at 45th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Solo Exhibition at Yu Gallery, Akasaka,Tokyo2002 The Next Generation, University of Arkansas, Little Rock2003 The Classic Japanese Basket, TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Samurai, 2015,13 × 9.75 × 6.75 inches

2004 Winner of Prince Takamatsu Award at 51st Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition (The winning piece was purchased by the Agency of Imperial Household)

Exhibited at The Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond,Virginia 2005 Judge at 45th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Two-Person Show at TAI Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico Weavers of Wonder, Naples Museum, Florida2006 Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Bamboo Art, Grinnell College, Iowa Hin: The Quiet Beauty of Japanese Bamboo Art, Chicago Cultural Center, Illinois2008 Awarded the “Purple Ribbon” by the Japanese Congress for lifetime achievement in the arts, presented by the Emperor of Japan2009 Lecture and demonstration at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco2010 Art Crafts in the 21st Century: A View from Abroad, MOA Museum of Art, Atami Judge at 50th Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition2011 Winner of Governor of Iwate Prefecture Prize at 51st Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition2012 Judge at 59th Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Judge at 52nd Eastern Japan Traditional Craft Arts Exhibition Judge at17th All Japan Bamboo Exhibition Solo show at Galley Yu, Akasaka,Tokyo2013 Winner of the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Prize at 14th Japan Traditional Craft Arts,Wood and Bamboo Exhibition Judge at 18th All Japan Bamboo Exhibition2014 From Crafts to Kogei, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo Tanaka Kyokusho, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Museum Collections:

Philadelphia Museum of ArtImperial Household, Japan Nasunogahara Museum, JapanAsian Art Museum, San Francisco

Right: Lotus Flower, 2015, 28.75 ×12.25 × 12.25 inches

Covers, pages 4 -–5: Arrow Pattern Line Construction Tray. Photo credit:

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