Bio
Taiko is a Denver-based artist originally from Nagano, Japan. She first trained and worked as a nurse in Japan and the UK before moving to the United States. In 2011, she took her first printmaking class at the Art Students League of Denver, which marked the beginning of her artistic path.
She works across printmaking, sculpture, and installation, often incorporating unconventional materials.
Taiko has exhibited across Colorado, including solo show at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Littleton Museum. Nationally, she has shown in group exhibitions and print fairs across the U.S. In 2023, her installation of 150 monotype prints on Tyvek was featured in the exhibition "Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
She has held residencies at RedLine Contemporary Art Center (2020–2022) and Anderson Ranch Arts Center (2024). Her work has been featured in Hyperallergic and in A Tale of Two Balconies (Smithsonian Institution & Giles Ltd., 2024).
Artist Statement
The process of creating art allows me to express my emotions and thoughts, as well as explore complex ideas in order to better understand the wider world. For me, it is the most powerful way to communicate. I am drawn to the intangible – to what is felt but unseen – and I give it form through material and process.
My work begins with an abstract idea or thought – a beginning. I work intuitively, questioning and iterating as I build. Creativity arises from curiosity and passion, and struggle. Through an intricate, detailed process, and the accumulation of time, simple forms emerge. Repetition introduces complexity and nuance.
I create prints on paper and Tyvek, which I often transform into large scale installations. I like to use hand-cut stencils to create a unique image and vibrant colors to introduce contrast. The tactile nature of printmaking, and the element of unexpected discovery, continues to inspire me.
My Tyvek work begins as an abstract drawing on a large piece of plexiglass with oil-based etching ink. I move my hands rhythmically across the surface, using a mat board in place of a brush to create clam-like shapes. The image is transferred onto Tyvek by running each sheet through an etching press. I repeat the process – each Tyvek print is unique. I then cut away the negative space with a craft knife, creating patterns that invite in light and shape shadows. I install the Tyvek on site by manipulating the two-dimensional sheets into three-dimensional sculptural forms that represent drawings in space. I pay close attention to space, scale, and shape, created by sight and feel over several days. The process is physically demanding, and temporary – each installation is fully dismantled afterward, resulting in a unique configuration every time.
In general in my sculptural work, I use humble materials such as fabric, bamboo sticks or discarded objects. These materials become the foundation for work that is intensely personal, containing layers of meaning tied to place and memory.
In my recent Tyvek installation Practice Makes Perfect (2025), I incorporated dozens of sheets of my mother’s practice calligraphy, which carry deep personal memories. The piece reflects my experience of living between cultural dualities, inspired by a recent trip to Japan.