Award-winning innovations in a time-honored art.
Stunning bamboo artworks by the recipients of the 2026 Next Generation Bamboo Art Prizes are currently on view in the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Gallery, including the winner of this year’s Coffland Grand Prize, Ōki Toshie (Japanese, b. 1976). In a historic turn for the competition, six of the seven finalists were women, and all three major awards were presented to female artists (Ōki Toshie, Aoyagi Keiko, and Hasegawa Kei), reflecting the growing presence and impact of women in contemporary bamboo art.
The Asian Art Museum is home to one of the largest collections of Japanese bamboo art in the world, thanks to generous donations from collector Lloyd Cotsen (1929–2017), who encouraged contemporary bamboo artists through his sponsorship of the Cotsen Bamboo Prize (2000–2004). Today, this legacy lives on through The Next Generation Bamboo Art Prizes. Organized by Robert T. Coffland and Margo Thoma (and judged in Beppu, Japan, in May 2026 by a panel including the Asian Art Museum’s Associate Curator of Japanese Art Yuki Morishima), The Next Generation Bamboo Art Prizes celebrate and support the future of Japanese bamboo art by providing monetary support for young and mid-career artists and fostering creativity and innovation across the Pacific.
Top image: Pure Spring, 2025, Ōki Toshie (Japanese, b. 1976), Reiwa period (2019–present). Bamboo, rattan, and lacquer. Lent by the artist. Photograph by Kubo Takashi, courtesy of The Next Generation Bamboo Art Prizes Committee. Bottom image: Installation view of Japanese bamboo gallery, including prize winners. Photograph by Kevin Candland.
