Short Bio
Deborah Kruger is an environmental fiber artist using recycled materials to address the impact of climate change on bird life and indigenous culture.
Statement
I grew up with the slogan, think globally but act locally. Our environmental problems are both global and local to us in North Carolina. Being an environmental artist is my way of shining a light on these issues.
My latest abstract fiber art focuses on the tragic losses of the 21st century, specifically the local and world-wide impacts of human-induced climate change and habitat fragmentation on the extinction of bird species, and death of indigenous languages.
The feathers in my textile paintings, sculptures and installations are fabricated from recycled plastic that is silk-screened with images from my drawings of endangered birds. I spend time at artist residencies researching and drawing birds and my portfolio has over 40 highly endangered birds.
My feathers are overprinted with text in endangered indigenous languages such as Shorthand, Yiddish and other indigenous languages, whose last living speakers/users are in steep decline.
Using plastic feathers embeds a layered narrative that addresses the relentless consumerism driving the loss of both bird and human habitat. I have thus been able to use my prior experience and training in wallpaper and textile design in the service of broad ecological and cultural concerns, while maintaining a fiber sensibility.
Biography
Surface design and patterning have influenced Deborah Kruger’s work since her textile design training at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Her wallpaper designs gradually morphed into artwork deeply impacted by fibers, traditional women’s clothing and environmental concerns. She has taught, lectured and exhibited throughout the US, Mexico, Europe and Australia since the 1980s.
Kruger’s recentand upcoming career highlights: 2024 Solo Show, “Text & Textiles”, at Block Gallery, Raleigh, NC curated by Stacy Bloom-Rexode; 2024 Guest Artist at the BienalEngativa in Bogota, Colombia curated by Hernan Piedra; 2024 Group Show, “LOGOS”, at SCD Studio in Perugia, Italy, curated by Barbara Pavan; 2023 Grand Prize Winner for Keller Prize curated by Nicholas Ducasse, Aspen, CO; 2023 Finalist for the Arte Laguna Prize in sculpture and installationwith an exhibition in Venice, Italy curated by Laura Gallon; 2023 People’s Choice Award for Devotional at the World of Threads Festival in Toronto, Canada curated by Dawne Rudman; 2023 Solo Show, “Avianto” at Joan Derryberry Art Gallery, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN curated by Charlene Lachiotte; 2022 Solo Show “Avianto”at the Train Station Museum, Chapala, Mexico curated by Gabriela Serrano Suzan; 2022 Solo Show “Plumas” at the PRPG.mx gallery in Mexico City curated by Micheal Swank.
Kruger has been in severalother internationalBiennials including 2022 X International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art: 25 Years World Textile Association (WTA) at Miami International Fine Art (MIFA) in Miami, FL, the Art Textile Biennial in Australia in 2021 and the Rufino Tamayo Bienal in Mexico City in 2022.
In North Carolina, Kruger’s work has appeared at the 2021 and 2020 North Carolina Artists Exhibition at the Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, NC and her piece “Conflagration” was chosen as the featured piece for the Museum entry; 2019 Group Show “Materiality/Process” at the Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC and she received a North Carolina Artist Support Grant, in Durham, NC 2022.
Kruger has been interviewed and had her work published in 2023 Shoutout North Carolina (NC) and 2022 Voyage Raleigh (NC), and Carolina Arts (NC) 2019 including the magazine cover. Kruger’s innovative workshop “Making Art with Recycled Materials” has been presented at the Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC (2019) and at Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC (2019).
The Museum of Art and Design in New York City has just acquired two of her large format environmental works and they will be exhibited in 2024.
Additional Reviews and Interviews of Kruger’s work have appeared in: ArteMorbida (Italy), Al-Tibia 9 (Barcelona), Handwerken (Netherlands), ArtDaily (Mexico), Art Speil (New York), Considering Art (UK), American Craft (USA), SAQA Journal Cover (USA), Textile Artist (UK), and Textile Fibre Forum (Australia).
Kruger has attended residencies at: The Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY (1991); La Porte Peinte Centre, Noyers-sur-Serein, France (2016); Hypatia-in-the-Woods, Shelton, WA (2021) and the Icelandic Textile Center in Blönduós, Iceland (2024).
Kruger maintains an art studioat a Presbyterian church in the vibrant art community of Durham, NC.
Resume / CV
Block Gallery, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, “Text & Textiles”, Curated by Stacy Bloom-Rexrode, 2024
Joan Derryberry Art Gallery, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA, “Avianto”, Curated by Charlene Lachicotte, 2023
Centro Cultural de Chapala, Chapala, Jalisco, México, “Avianto”, Curated by Gabriela Serrano Suzán, 2022
PRPG.mx, México City, México, “Plumas”, Curated by Micheal Swank, 2021
Centro Cultural Antigua Presidencia, Chapala, Jalisco, México, “Turbulence: Birds, Beauty, Language & Loss”, Curated by Sergio Unzueta, 2018
Haus Der Kunst, San Pancho, Nayarit, México, “Halcyon”, 2010
Translations Gallery, Denver, Colorado, USA, “New Work: Fiber & Encaustic”, 2008
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
III Bienal de Artes Plásticas y Visuales de Engativa, Guest Artist, Bogota, Colombia, 2024
SCD Studio, Perugia, Italy, “LOGOS”, Curated by Barbara Pavan, 2024
Timeless Textiles, Newcastle, Australia, “Wings”, Curated by Lanny Bergner, 2024
Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center, Wichita, Kansas, USA, “HGA’s 2024 Convergence Teachers Exhibition”, 2024
Shelley Heffler Gallery, Cathedral City, California, USA, “Text & Textiles”, with Shelley Heffler, 2023
KUNSTMATRIX, Online, “Kinship With Birds in Plight and Flight”, Curated by Women Eco Artists Dialogue (WEAD) and Jane Kim, 2023
Blue Sky Studios, Chinatown, New York, USA, “Invisible Matters”, with Michael Pribich, part of the “Follow the Thread Festival” Curated by Barbara Pavan, 2023
Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, World of Threads, Curated by Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate, 2023
Museo Raúl Anguiano MURA, Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, “Una Línea en el Agua, Revisión de la Colección Díaz Corona Centeno”, 2023
Arsenale Nord of Venice, Venice, Italy, “Arte Laguna Prize”, Curated by Laura Gallon, 2023
Miami International Fine Art (MIFA), Miami, Florida, USA, “X International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art: 25 Years WTA”, 2022
Galería de las Esculturas, Xalapa, Veracruz, México, “World Textile Association Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art Nuevo Aire”, 2022-2023
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Internacional Rufino Tamayo, México City, México, “Rufino Tamayo Bienal IX”, 2022
Van Gogh Art Gallery, Madrid, Spain, “Collective Artists”, 2021Watermark Art Center, Bemidgi, Minnesota, USA, Curated by Nnenna Okore, “Earth Matters”, 2021
Manifold Global, On-line, Curated by Emily Strong & Matthew Pring, “Abstraction”, 2021
Raleigh Fine Art Society, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, On-line, “North Carolina Artist Exhibition”, 2021
Artists for Conservation, International Virtual Exhibition, “Wildlife Artist of The Year”, 2021
East Gippsland Regional Gallery, Victoria and Toowoomba Regional Gallery, Queensland, Australia, Curated by Glenys Mann, “Art Textile Biennale”, 2021
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, México, “Rufino Tamayo Bienal IX”, 2021
Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, “North Carolina Artists Exhibition”, 2020
Durham Arts Council, Durham, North Carolina, USA, “Materiality/Process”, 2019
Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, “Fiberart International”, 2019
St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, “Beyond The Surface”, 2019
Sebastopol Art Center, Sebastopol, California, USA, “International Fiber Arts IX”, 2019
Bernard Heller Museum, New York, New York, USA, “Terra Infirma”, 2018
Mountain View College, Dallas, Texas, USA, “Pattern Paradigm”, 2015
Ceres Gallery, New York, New York, USA, “Ceres@30”, 2014
Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, “Flight Patterns”, 2014
Nave Gallery, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA, “Vessels”, 2014
Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, “Flight Patterns”, 2013
Diego Rivera Museum, México City, México, “VI Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil Contemporáneo Installations de Aire”, 2011
Reciclado, Cultural Center, Oaxaca, México, “VI Bienal Internacional de ArteTextil Contemporáneo”, 2011
GRANTS / HONORS / RESIDENCIES
One-Month Residency, Icelandic Textile Center, Blönduós, Iceland, 2024
Art Styles, Eco-Art, Noteworthy Inspiration, Saatchi Art, 2024
People’s Choice Award, World of Threads Festival, Oakville, Canada, 2024
Grand Prize Winner, Keller Prize, Aspen, Co, 2023
Finalist for the Laguna Arte Prize in Sculpture & Installation, Arsenale Nord of Venice, Venice, Italy, 2023
North Carolina Artist Support Grant, Durham, North Carolina, USA, 2022
Hypatia-In-The-Woods, Residency, Shelton, Washington, USA, 2021
Honorable Mention, International Fiber Arts IX, Sebastopol Art Center, Sebastopol, California, USA, 2019
La Porte Peinte Centre, Residency, Noyers-sur-Serein, France, 2016
First Prize, Ajijic Cultural Center, Ajijic, Jalisco, México, 2011
Second Prize, Saco Museum, Saco, Maine, USA, 2009
Gottlieb Foundation, New York, New York, USA, Emergency Assistance Artist Grant, 2008
First Prize, Convergence Conference, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, 2008
Best 3-Dimensional Piece, New México Highlands University, Las Vegas, New Mexico, USA, 2004
Honorable Mention, International Surface Design Association, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 2003
LECTURES/WORKSHOPS
Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, Tennessee, USA, “Gallery Talk”, 2023
San Diego College of Continuing Education, San Diego, California, USA, “Keynote on Sustainability and Repair”, 2023
San Diego College of Continuing Education, San Diego, California, USA, “Making Art with Recycled Materials”, 2023
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, USA, “Making Art with Recycled Materials”, 2019
Durham Arts Council, Durham, North Carolina, USA, “Making Art with Recycled Materials”, 2019
Ajijic Society of The Arts, Ajijic, Jalisco, México, “My Art and Process”, 2010
Translations Gallery, Denver, Colorado, USA, “Fiber & Feminism”, 2008
Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA, “Bookkeeping for Artists”, 2006 Professional
Association of Custom Clothiers, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA “Professional Business Marketing”, 2006
Association of Custom Clothiers, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA, “Bookkeeping for Custom Clothiers”, 2005
Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, Massachusetts, USA, “Fiber and Feminism”, 2005
GALLERY/SHOWROOM
STILE Showroom, Viale Venezia 96, 25123 Brescia https://www.stileoriginaldesign.it
REFERENCES
Stacy Bloom-RexodeDirector of Block GalleryRaleigh, NCstacy.bloom-rexrode@raleighnc.gov
Elissa AutherChief Curator at the Museum of Art & DesignNew York, New York, USAElissa.Auther@madmuseum.org
Barbara PavanIndependent Curator and Editor of ArteMorbida Magazine Rome, Italybarbarapavan469@gmail.com
Shirley PiersonProgram Chair in Clothing and Textiles at the San Diego College of Continuing Education San Diego, California, USAspierson@sdccd.edu
Gabriela Serrano SuzánCurator of Museo y Centro Cultural González GalloChapala, Jalisco, Méxicosergabriela@gmail.com
Sergio UnzuetaIndependent CuratorJalisco, México sergiounzueta81@hotmail.com+52 331.464.3900 (WhatsApp)
Rebecca RitzellArt Critic for the New York Times, Washington Post and American Craftrjritzel@gmail.com+1 443.617.6545
