has/had
 

Katie James is still alive. Could I use the simple present tense?

-Katie has her first gallery in Japan. The name of it is taken from one of her drawings of Albert Einstein.

1. 'has' sounds OK, but I'm not so sure, because something 'first' should be in the past, which requires the simple past, but if the gallery still exists, 'has' seems OK.

2. I'm not sure about the verb 'is', because the nature of the verb 'take' in my sentence does not sound like an actual act that makes me think the simple past 'was' is required.

Re: has/had
 

1. No - the verb is wrong. As you say, there's a clash between the verb fprm (present) and the concept of "first" which suggests you are only talking about the past. You would have to say :

KJ opened her first gallery in Japan. That puts the event (the opening) firmly in the past, so the verb form is automatic. ot you could say :
KJ has a gallery in Japan. This was her first gallery, though she now owns three...

2. Here you could use either "is" or "was". it depends what's in the speaker's mind. Are you thinking about the moment that she decided (The name was taken...) or the fact that it is still called that (The name is taken...)

3. Use the possessive : Its name rather than the name of it. It's more natural sounding.

Re: has/had
 

Excellent answer. Thank you.