COOKEVILLE, TN.- AVIANTO, an exhibition of Deborah Kruger’s environmental artwork is on display in the
Joan Derryberry Gallery at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee. AVIANTO focuses on Deborah Kruger’s recent work, which is motivated by the extinction of bird species, and the loss of indigenous languages around the world. Climate change and relentless consumption contribute to these problems. Saturated colors characterize Kruger’s work and often mimic bird plumage. She hopes to raise awareness, and inspire action about these impending losses that affect all of us.
“The feathers in my abstract wall reliefs are made from recycled plastic, which serve to remind us how corporate greed, coupled with our unquenchable consumption, drive the loss of habitat that contributes to these extinctions.” The feathers in this exhibition are hand silk-screened with images from Kruger’s drawings of endangered birds and overprinted with text in endangered languages such as Yiddish, Tzotzil, Yakme, Zoque, and Ladino, whose last living speakers are in steep decline.
Deborah Kruger
Wallpaper design and patterning have influenced Kruger’s work since her training in textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has taught, lectured and exhibited her artwork in museums, galleries and universities throughout the US, Mexico, Europe and Australia since the 1980s.
Recent career highlights include a 2022 solo exhibition titled Avianto at the Train Station Museum Chapala, Mexico. Parts of this exhibition plus new work will be featured at a solo exhibition at the Joan Derry Berry Gallery at Tennessee Tech University in 2023.
Two of Kruger’s large-scale environmental artworks have been acquired by the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York City and will be on view beginning in May 2024.
Her prize-winning work was featured at the Bernard Heller Museum, NYC, the Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, NC, the Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta, GA, the Diego Rivera Museum, Mexico City, and the Saco Art Museum, Saco, ME.
She has attended residencies at the Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, NY, La Porte Peinte Centre, Noyers-sur-Serein, FRANCE and a residency at Hypatia-in-the-Woods, Shelton, WA.
Kruger maintains studios in the vibrant art community of Durham, NC and in the lakeside village of Chapala, Mexico.
Her art practice balances making objects of beauty that convey layered meaning about habitat fragmentation, bird migration, species extinction and loss of indigenous languages.
Deborah Kruger Art & Process
This short documentary is a compelling peek behind the scenes into the mind and studio of contemporary artist, Deborah Kruger. Viewers will learn about her multi-media approach to making abstract art that combines a layered aesthetic with concerns about birds who are threatened by habitat destruction and habitat fragmentation. Kruger shows us her screen-printing methods, introduces us to her studio team of Mexican women, discusses her passion about endangered birds and languages and we also hear from two critics about their views of her artwork. https://tinyurl.com/36bcr7zf
Joan Derryberry Gallery at Tennessee Tech University
AVIANTO
August 17th, 2023 - September 14th, 2023
The artist will give a Gallery Talk at the exhibition closing on Thursday September 14th at 5pm and welcomes the college and local community to attend.
