Kobako: The Art of Enclosure by Jacqui Ghosin
TAI Modern presents a Curatorial Vignette of Japanese-inspired Art Boxes
November 21, 2025 through January 3, 2026
Jacqui Ghosin’s background is in graphic design. She earned her graduate degree from the Allgemeine Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel, Switzerland and then worked in Munich, Germany.
After returning to the States, she worked in San Francisco for Landor Associates and then Addison Design Consultants before opening her own firm, Design One, with two other partners. In 2016, after 25 successful years, she and the team retired.
As is so often the case in the world of art, Ghosin’s interest in creating Japanese-inspired boxes was serendipitous, sparked after seeing another artist’s works in this area and her gift of a single sheet of beautiful Japanese silk-screened paper. These seeds of inspiration further blossomed into a singular focus — a natural progression that her years of professional graphic design work was well-suited for.
She says, “From there, I became intrigued with creating a ‘box’ that might not house anything inside but would, instead, yield surprising relationships. Either something unexpected would be revealed upon opening the piece, or the construction itself would be intriguing, or the inclusion of seemingly incongruous materials that were, upon reflection, quite harmonious.”
The interplay between incongruity and harmony, expectation and surprise, is at the heart of her work.
Jacqui will attend the opening at TAI Modern Gallery, 1601 Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe on Friday, November 21, from 5-7PM, and the show will be on view until Saturday, January 3, 2026.
• Date:
6.75 x 1.75 inches
Date: December 2024
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Japanese Weight: 1lb 4oz •
7.5 x 3 inches
book cloth, book board, bamboo, wood
Date: October 2025
Strings Size: 10.6 x 8.5
Materials: Nepalese oiled paper with strings, Brazilian marbleized paper, Weight: 2lb 11oz •
Strings
8.5 x 3.25 inches
paper, Japanese book cloth, high density book board with magnetic closure
Date: February 2025
Weight: 1 lb
8.5 x 2.5 inches
suede book cloth, metal and magnetic closure
Date: April 2025
Midnight Blue x 3.25 inches
suede book cloth, metal and magnetic closure
• Date: March 2025
Materials:
7.5 x 3 inches
imitation suede book cloth, book board, bamboo, wood, gold leaf
Date: March 2025
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Japanese book cloth, imitation Weight: 1lb 4oz • Date:
Wooden Closure
7.5 x 3 inches
imitation suede book cloth, book board, bamboo, wood, gold leaf
Date: September 2025
Black and Size: 8.5 x 5.5
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Indian foil distressed paper, Weight: 12.5oz • Date:
and Gold
5.5 x 2 inches paper, French silk Moire book cloth, book board, stone
Date: November 2023
Offset Opening
6.5 x 3.5 inches
cloth, Yuzen washi paper, book board
Date: March 2024
Dragon of Size: 19.6 x 14.5
Materials: Sogara and Yuzen washi papers, Japanese Weight: 7lb 14oz •
Prosperity
14.5 x 3.25 inches
Japanese Mohair book cloth, high density book board, metal
Date: March 2025
Floating Size: 10 x 6.25
Materials: Japanese book cloth, Yuzen washi paper, Weight: 1lb 10oz •
Floating
6.25 x 3.75 inches
paper, pearlized paper, high density book board
Date: March 2025
Flowers Size: 12.25 x 8.75
Materials: Mexican Amate Flores paper, hand-painted paper, Japanese Weight: 3lb 7oz •
Flowers
8.75 x 2.75 inches
Japanese book cloth, high density book board, metal and magnetic closure
• Date: May 2025
Garden Size: 13.75 x 8.25
Materials: Japanese Mohair book cloth, Japanese book cloth, Sogara and Yuzen washi
Weight: 2lb 2oz •
Garden
8.25 x 3.75 inches
washi papers, German vegetable paper (zucchini and black radishes), book board, metal
• Date: April 2025
Materials: Sogara and Yuzen washi papers, Mexican Amate wood paper, imitation Weight: 2lb 8oz • Date:
Thunder and Lightning
11.25 x 3 inches
imitation suede book cloth, Japanese book cloth, high density book board
Date: December 2024
Japanese Size: 5.5 x 5.5
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Japanese brocade Weight: 1lb 4 oz
Japanese Cubism
5.5 x 4 inches
brocade book cloth, high density book board
Date: October 2025
Size: 24 x 11
Materials: Sogara and Yuzen washi papers, etched acrylic, imitation Weight: 7lb 15oz •
Leaping Upstream
11 x 3 inches
imitation suede and Italian Verona book cloth, high density book board
Date: August 2025
Land of the Size: 24 x 11.5
Materials: Sogara and Yuzen washi papers, imitation suede and Weight: 7lb 6oz •
the Rising Sun
11.5 x 3.25 inches and Italian Verona book cloth, high density book board, metal
• Date: June 2025
Memories
Size: 11.125 x 7.125
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Japanese and Italian Verona book Weight: 1lb 8oz •
Memories
7.125 x 2.5 inches
book cloth, linen, high density book board, metal checkerboard
Date: August 2025
Mother of Pearl and Size: 7.5 x 4
Materials: Mother of Pearl and Abalone inlay, French silk Moire book cloth, pearlized metallic paper, Weight: 1lb • Date:
and Abalone Inlay
x 2.5 inches
cloth, imitation suede book cloth, Yuzen washi paper, embossed reptile paper, high density book board
Date: November 2024
in Size: 12.75 x 9.5
Materials: Sogara Yuzen paper, Japanese Weight: 2lb 9oz •
9.5 x 2.125 inches
Japanese book cloth, high density book board
Date: January 2025
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Japanese book cloth, imitation suede book cloth, Weight: 1lb 4oz • Date: February
River
6.5 x 2.5 inches
cloth, Italian Verona book cloth, high density book board, magnetic closure
February 2024 – March 2025
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Italian foil paper, Japanese Mohair book cloth, Weight: 7.8oz •
Date:
Treasures
4 x 3 inches
cloth, imitation suede book cloth, high density book board, magnetic closure
Date: October 2024
Wisteria Size: 7.875 x 5.5
Materials: Yuzen washi paper, Japanese book cloth, Italian Weight: 1lb • Date:
Wisteria
5.5 x 3.25 inches
Italian Verona book cloth, high density book board, metal
Date: September 2025
Kobako: The Art of Enclosure
A Curatorial Vignette of Japanese-inspired Art Boxes by Jacqui Ghosin
Opening reception November 21, 2025
Jacqui Ghosin • Kobako: The Art of Enclosure • www.issuu.com/jacquighosin