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Deborah Kruger (b. Astoria, NY 1953-) is an American visual artist known for her abstract works made with fibers and recycled plastic bags. Influenced by the Pattern and Decoration movement of the 1980s and her training in textile design, Kruger has developed a distinctive visual language using recycled materials and images of endangered birds and endangered languages. Kruger makes wall-hung pieces, installations, sculpture and artist books. Her works are owned by private collections throughout North America. Kruger has team-based studios in Durham, NC and Chapala, Mexico, where she has a home.

Early Life and Education
Deborah Kruger was born in Astoria, NY and grew up in New York with her parents and brother. As a teenager, she studied drawing at the Art Students League in New York. In 1975 she graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York with a degree in Textile Design. She was deeply encouraged by the FIT faculty, especially Albert Strausman and Miriam Fredenthal, who would become a lifetime mentor. Kruger worked as a wallpaper designer in New England but found commercial design creatively stifling. She moved to Western Massachusetts and began doing financial work as her day job and rented her first studio at the Leverett Crafts Center in Leverett, Mass. In 1982 she started PsychBilling, a medical billing company that would support her and her family for the next 32 years.

Early Work
Once Kruger had left commercial textiles behind, she was able to set up a studio practice with a fiber focus. Her first studio was at the Leverett Craft Center in Western Massachusetts and later, she graduated to a larger, more professional space at the Brushworks/Arts&Industry Building in Florence, Mass, where she had a studio for 17 years.

In the 1980s, Kruger’s work was more narrative and overtly political. Influenced by the Pattern and Decoration movement, her work used wallpaper and mixed textiles. Her installation Crosses to Bear and her series Anatomy of Worship were exhibited across the U.S. including at the Women’s Building in LA with performance artist Cheri Gaulke. Imagery related to women in religion, pornography and ancient goddesses were common subjects.

In the 1990s, Kruger was introduced to encaustic and her work took a new, more abstract direction. Her short foray into quilt art morphed into art that took the triangle as its major component and form. Despite the limitations of being a single parent, Kruger managed to continue showing her work throughout the US, mainly in venues related to encaustic, women artists and fiber.

Mid-Career Work
Beginning in 2000, Kruger’s interest in endangered birds began to appear in her work. Her pieces became layered with feathers that she made from fiber, encaustic, paint and textured with waxed linen and wire thread.

In 2009, Kruger’s piece Enrapture won a prize at the Saco Museum’ s encaustic exhibition titled "Heat Stroke". That year her work was also cited in a review of "Metamophosis", another encaustic exhibition at the Haydon Art Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.

After Kruger retired to Chapala, Mexico in 2010, she had time to devote to the Surface Design Association, an international fiber art organization that had inspired her for over 15 years. Kruger served on their board for several years. Kruger's new work flourished on Lake Chapala and in 2011, her installation Butterfly Effect was accepted in the World Textile Association Contemporary Textile Biennale in Mexico City at the Muse Diego Rivera-Anahuacalli. In 2014, Kruger was invited to exhibit in Flight Patterns, an international exhibition of fiber art curated by the late curator, Dorothy Moye and installed for a year at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Kruger’s piece Migration was constructed from digital prints of her fabric feathers. In 2016, Kruger began to fabricate her feathers from recycled plastic bags and silk-screening. “My idea of successful art is the integration of content and form…The artist needs to ‘marry’ the idea of the work to the work itself. I transitioned from fabric to plastic because I felt my pieces weren’t speaking directly enough to my theme of endangered birds.”

Kruger spent time at two artist residencies at key points in her development:  In 1991, she was the first fiber artist at the Millay Colony in Austerlitz, NY and in 2016, she spent a month at La Porte Peinte Centre Pour Les Arts in Noyers, France.

Inspired by her experience at Millay, Kruger started 360 Xochi Quetzal Artist Residency in Mexico in 2012. Artists, writers and musicians from around the world come for 1 – 4 month residencies at private live/work spaces on Lake Chapala.Kruger's work appears in Dimensional Cloth:Sculpture by Contemporary Textile Artists written by Andra Stanton. The section titled "Take Heed" features Red Basket and Remnants 18, examples of work in her Remnants series. Redtail a large private commission is also included in this book. Textiles Re-Imagined by Joseph and Sam Pitcher features Halcyon 3 and Feather Basket, pieces done during Kruger's first year in Mexico.

In 2018, Kruger debuted her new work using recycled plastic bags and screen-printing at a solo exhibition, "Turbulence: Birds, Beauty, Language & Loss", at the Chapala (Mexico) Cultural Center during the 'Sincronico' contemporary arts festival, curated by Sergio Unzueta. Vortex, the sculpture from that show appeared on the cover of SAQA Journal in an article by ZJ Humbach. That year her piece titled Harbinger, was featured at the  TERRAinFIRMA show at Dr. Bernard Heller Museum curated by Laura Kruger (no relation) and noted in an article by Rebecca Ritzel titled A Different Feather in American Craft Magazine.

Beginning in 2020, Kruger’s work found a more international audience. Abandon was selected for the Rufino Tamayo Bienal, which opened at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO) in Oaxaca and after traveling to other venues in Mexico, will close at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Internacional Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City. Kimono was selected to represent Mexico at the Art Textile Biennale that traveled through Australia in 2021. After a virtual residency at the PRPG.mx Art Lab, Kruger was invited to have the inaugural solo exhibition at the gallery’s expanded space in Mexico City. Plumas was exhibited in late 2021 and then in a solo show on Artsy in 2022. Plumas was covered by publications in Mexico, Australia, Italy, Austria and the US. She is preparing for several upcoming solo shows in Chapala and  Guadalajara, Mexico (2022) and at the Visions Art Museum in San Diego, CA (2023). Her work is now represented by PRPG.mx Gallery in Mexico City and by the Van Gogh Gallery in Madrid, Spain.

Solo Exhibitions
2023 VISIONS ART MUSEUM, San Diego, CA “Turbulence: Birds, Beauty, Language &amp;amp; Loss”

2022 PALACIO DE LA CULTURA Y LOS CONGRESOS (PALCCO), Zapopan, MEXICO “Turbulence: Birds, Beauty, Language &amp;amp; Loss”

2018  CHAPALA CULTURAL CENTER, Chapala, MEXICO, “Turbulence: Birds, Beauty, Language & Loss”

2010  HAUS DE KUNST, San Pancho, MEXICO, “Halcyon”

2008  TRANSLATIONS GALLERY, Denver, CO, “NEW WORK: Fiber & Encaustic”

2008  WESTERN NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE, Springfield, MA “Plumage”

2003  FIBER ART CENTER, Amherst, MA  “Attention to Detail”

2003  SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE, Springfield, MA  “Attention to Detail”

1986  CERES GALLERY, New York, NY  “Tribe of Dina”

1986  HARTWICK COLLEGE, Oneonta, NY  “Tribe of Dina”

1986  MUHLENBERG COLLEGE, Allentown, PA  “Tribe of Dina”

1985  THE WOMAN’S BUILDING, Los Angeles, CA “Anatomy of Worship”

1994  ZONE, Springfield, MA  “Anatomy of Worship”

Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 ART TEXTILE BIENNALE, EAST GIPPSLAND REGIONAL GALLERY, Bairnsdale, Victoria, AUSTRALIA

2021 ART TEXTILE BIENNALE, TOOWOOMBA REGIONAL GALLERY, Queensland, AUSTRALIA

2021 TAMAYO BIENAL MUSEO DE ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO DE OAXACA, Oaxaca, MEXICO

2021 TAMAYO BIENAL,MUSEO DE ARTE CONTEMPORÁNEO INTERNACIONAL RUFINO TAMAYO, Mexico City, MEXICO

2020 NC ARTISTS EXHIBITION, CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM, Raleigh, NC

2019 FIBERART INTERNATIONAL 2019, Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA

2019 INTERNATIONAL FIBERARTS IX, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA

2019 BEYOND THE SURFACE-SDA CONFERENCE, St. Louis Artists Guild, St. Louis, MO

2019 MATERIALITY/PROCESS, Durham Arts Council, Durham, NC

2018  DR. BERNARD HELLER MUSEUM, New York, NY

2016  MOUNTAINVIEW COLLEGE, Dallas, TX

2015  FLIGHT PATTERNS, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

2014  FLIGHT PATTERNS, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, Atlanta, GA

2014  CERES GALLERY, New York, NY

2013  WAYNE ART CENTER, Wayne, NJ

2011  DIEGO RIVERA MUSEUM, Mexico City, MEXICO

2011  CULTURAL CENTER, Oaxaca, MEXICO

2011  KATHERINE NASH GALLERY, Minneapolis, MN

2011  BLUE DOOR GALLERY, Yonkers, NY

2011  CCCA GALLERY, Hudson, NY

2010  LAGUNA ARTES PLASTICAS ART FAIR, Ajijic, MEXICO

2010  PAPER CITY PROJECT SPACE, Holyoke, MA

2009  TABLA RASA GALLERY, Brooklyn, NY

2009 SACO ART MUSEUM, Saco, ME

2009  ARTISAN GALLERY, Chicago, IL

2009 HAYDON ART CENTER, Lincoln, NE

2008 CAIN SCHULTE GALLERY, San Francisco, CA

2008 BRIAN MARKI GALLERY, Portland, OR

2008 WHITNEY ART WORKS, Portland, ME

2008 MONTSERRAT COLLEGE, Beverly, MA

2006 VISUAL ART CENTER OF NEW JERSEY, Summit, NJ

2004 LOVELAND MUSEUM, Loveland, CO

2003 LYNN FOUNDATION GALLERY, Kansas City, MO

1998 621 GALLERY, Tallahassee, FL

1997 HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE, Amherst, MA

1996 PENINSULA ARTS, Belmont, CA

1993 MAIN LINE ART CENTER, Haverford, PA

1991 ATTLEBORO MUSEUM, Attleboro, MA

1989 KENTUCK MUSEUM, Northport, AL

Awards and Recognition
2021 HYPATIA-IN-THE-WOODS, Residency, Shelton, WA

2019 HONORABLE MENTION, INTERNATIONAL FIBER ARTS IX, SEBASTOPOL  ART CENTER, Sebastopol, CA

2016   LA PORTE PEINTE CENTRE POUR LES ARTS, Noyers sur Serein, France. Residency

2011   FIRST PRIZE, Sculpture Award, ASA Exhibition, Ajijic Cultural Center, Ajijic, Mexico

2008   GOTTLIEB FOUNDATION, Emergency Assistance Artist Grant

2008   FIRST PRIZE, Convergence Conference, St. Petersburg, FL

2004   BEST 3-DIMENSIONAL, New Mexico Highlands University Gallery, Las Vegas, NM

2003   HONORABLE MENTION, International Surface Design Association, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO

1991   MILLAY COLONY FOR THE ARTS, Austerlitz, NY. Residency

1990   UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, Tempe, AZ. Guest Curator

1989   SOUTH WEST STATE UNIVERSITY, Marshall, MN. Sculpture Prize

1989   ARTISTS FOUNDATION, Boston, MA. Guest Curator

1987   MONEY FOR WOMEN FUND, Brooklyn, NY. Grant

1986   MUHLENBERG COLLEGE, Allentown, PA. Sculpture Prize

1985   MASSACHUSETTS ARTS LOTTERY. Grants (also 1986, 1987)

Lectures and Workshops
2019 WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY, Cullowhee, NC “Making Art with Recycled Materials”

2019 DURHAM ARTS COUNCIL, Durham, NC “Making Art with Recycled Materials”

2010   AJIJIC SOCIETY OF THE ARTS, Ajijic, Mexico "My Art and Process"

2008   TRANSLATIONS GALLERY, Denver, CO "Fiber & Feminism"

2006   GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Greenfield, MA "Bookkeepinig for Artists"

2006  PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CUSTOM CLOTHIERS, Framingham, MA "Business Marketing for Custom Clothiers" also "Bookkeeping for Custom Clothiers" in 2005

2006  GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Greenfield, MA "Fiber and Feminism"

2003 ROWE CONFERENCE CENTER, Rowe, MA (also 1997, 1995)

2003  FIBER ART CENTER, Amherst, MA

2003  SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE, Springfield, MA

2000 MAINE COLLEGE OF ART, Portland, ME (also 1997)

1998 ART QUILT NETWORK OF NEW YORK, New York, NY

1998  A COMPANY OF WOMEN, Peterborough, NH

1997 FEMME D' ATELIER, Ithaca, NY (also 1996)

1997  WESTFIELD STATE COLLEGE, Westfield, MA

1997  NORTH COUNTRY STUDIO WORKSHOP, Hanover, NH

1996 SIREN's WORKSHOP CENTER, Provincetown, MA

1994 SHARON ART CENTER, Sharon, NH (also 1993, 1992, 1991)

1984  JEWISH WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER, New York, NY

1993 NATIONAL COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN, New York, NY

1992 MUSEUM OF FINE ART, Springfield, MA

1991 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, Ann Arbor, MI

1991  ATTLEBORO MUSEUM, Attleboro, MA

1991  SMITHTOWN ARTS COUNCIL, Smithtown, NY

1990 WINDHAM COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL, Brattleboro, VT

1989 SOUTH BROADWAY CULTURAL CENTER, Albuquerque, NM

1988 BROCKTON ART MUSEUM, Brockton, MA