NAOMI WANJIKU GAKUNGA

**Naomi Wanjinku Gakunga**, *Ndumo - The Girls' Dance*, 2015. Sheet metal and steel wire, 295 x 295 x 31 cm.

Born in 1960, Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga grew up among the Kikuyu people of Kenya. She first studied art at the University of Nairobi, Kenya before continuing her studies at UCLA, USA. She now lives and works in San Antonio, Texas. Her sculptural works are made from textured sheet metal and steel wire. A range of supplementary materials are occasionally incorporated in innovative ways. The works in sheet metal and woven wire combine traditional techniques with contemporary materials and processes. The galvanized sheet metal - known as mabati - is intertwined with Gakunga’s childhood memories, when grass thatch roofs on Kenyan homes were eventually replaced by mabati. Gakunga’s method involves carefully oxidizing rolls of sheet metal by submerging in water, occasionally adding dyes to produce a range of chromatic effects.

Gakunga studied and lectured in design at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, before continuing her graduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been included in exhibitions in the USA, UK, France, Brazil and Poland. In 2013, October Gallery presented her first solo exhibition Ituĩka - Transformation. In 2016, she was shortlisted for the Financial Times/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Awards and in 2017, her sculpture Mũgogo - The Crossing was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition, London, UK.

In 2021 Naomi's work Wetereire – Waiting, won the prestigious Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

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View below for career highlights and works for sale by the artist.

NAOMI WANJIKU GAKUNGA Items From Our Store

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

The Unravelling, 2014.

Folklorico IV, 2014.

Mũgogo - The Crossing, 2012.

The Immigrants Experiences, 2013.

SELECTED WORKS

Magetha ma njahĩ - The Big Harvest, 2012.

Kῖambῖrῖria - Genesis, 2009.

Encino, 2010.

Magetha ma Mwere - The Small Harvest, 2010.

Kukumbuka – To Remember, 2013-16.

Teremko - The Descent, 2017.

Shwari na Pepo - Calm Before Storm, 2017.

Tuwawili - Two of us, 2015.

Bridges Not Walls, 2015.

Redefining Boundaries, 2015.

Together They Marched, 2014.

Macakaya - Lamentations, 2013-16.

Mizigo - Burdens, 2014-16.

Wetereire - Waiting, 2016.

Ithũῖro - Dusk, 2014.

Jioni - Evening, 2015.

Macheo - Early Morning, 2015.

Adhuhuri - Midday, 2015.

Tears from Above, 2012.

First Fruits, 2011.

Rainy Season, 2010.

NAOMI WANJIKU GAKUNGA

Born in 1960, Nakuru, Kenya. Lives and works in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Education
1992		MA Design, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
1985		BA Design, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Selected Solo Shows
2017		Tushauriane – Let’s Talk About It, October Gallery, London, UK Tafsiri (Interpretations), Bihl Haus Arts, San Antonio, Texas, USA Solo Exhibition, The Radius Center, San Antonio, Texas
2014		Cat’s Cradle, 108 \| Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
2013		Ituĩka- Transformation, October Gallery, London, UK A Tradition of Strings, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas, USA
2010		The Art of Transformation, University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas, USA

Selected Group Shows
2020		Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa with October Gallery, London, UK
2019		Dream No Small Dream: Celebrating 40 Years of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK Re/Devaluing Colorism, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, USA Breaching Boarders, International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland Admitted USA, Centro de Artes Gallery, San Antonio, USA INTERSECTIONS, Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, USA
2018		Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK Transformers: Artistic Alchemy, Dalton Gallery, Georgia, USA African American Artists at the Tricentennial, St. Philip’s College, San Antonio, USA Common Currents: Artists Explore 300 Years of San Antonio, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, USA The Museum of Geometric and MADI Art, 3109 Carlisle Street, Dallas, USA The 6th Riga International Triennial Global Intrigue II Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Latvia
2017		Frieze New York, New York, USA, with October Gallery, London, UK Art Paris Art Fair, Paris, France, with October Gallery, London, UK Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa, with October Gallery, London, UK
2016		AKAA: Also Known as Africa, Contemporary art and design fair, Paris, France, with October Gallery, London, UK 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK, with October Gallery, London, UK African Convergences, Northwest Vista College, Texas, USA Of Lace and Steel, Dock Space Gallery, Texas, USA
2015		Africa Africans, Museu Afro Brasil, São Paulo, Brazil Flight Patterns, Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design Galleries, Georgia State University, Georgia, USA Art15, London, UK, with October Gallery, London, UK 5th Riga International Textile and Fibre Triennial: Tradition and Innovation, Latvia National Museum of Art (LNMA), Riga, Latvia 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK, with October Gallery, London, UK
2014		Platt Gallery, American Jewish University, Los Angeles, California, USA Flight Patterns, Concourse T North, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Interwoven Histories, October Gallery, London, UK 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London, UK, with October Gallery, London, UK Art14, London, UK, with October Gallery, London, UK
2013		14th International Triennial of Tapestry, Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz, Poland Contemporâneo: International Exhibition of Textile Art, Patchwork Design, Clube Monte Líbano,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Contemporâneo: International Exhibition of Textile Art, Patchwork Design, São Paulo, Brazil
2012		Women, Peace and Security Quilt Challenge, United Nations Visitor’s Centre, New York, USA 11th Quilt Nihon Exhibition, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Tokyo; JR Nagoya Takashimaya Nakamura-key, Nagoya-City, Aichi, Japan The 18th European Patchwork Meeting, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, France Fiber Art 2012, New Braunfels Art League Gallery, New Braunfels, Texas, USA
2011		Women, Peace and Security Quilt Challenge, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland Confluence - Surface Design Show, The Katherine E. Nash Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Softer Side of Things, Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, Kerrville, Texas, USA Fiber Artists of San Antonio, Annual Show, Gallery Nord, San Antonio, Texas, USA
2010		4th Riga International Textile and Fibre Art Triennial: Tradition and Innovation, Global Intrigue II, Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Latvia Texas Oklahoma Art Prize, Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University, Wichita Texas, USA Fiber: TwentyTen, Foundry Art Centre, St Charles, Missouri, USA The Artful Table, Craft Alliance Centre of Art and Design, St Louis, Missouri, USA Inside Out/Fiber Art for the Human Form, Textile Centre, Joan Mondale Gallery, Minnesota, USA PushingtheLimits, Artspace Gallery, Richmond, USA
2009		Foto-Fiber-Fabulous, Fiber Art Space, San Antonio, Texas, USA Light Fantastic Exhibition, Main Street Gallery, Groton, New York, USA Nothing New- Fiber Art from Recycled Material, Textile Centre, Joan Mondale Gallery, Minnesota, USA Surface Matters, Surface Design Association Members’ Exhibition, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, USA
2007		Women of the World, Arcadia Art Centre, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
2005		Real Beauty, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA Scratching the Surface, Texas Federation of Fiber Artists, San Antonio, Texas, USA San Antonio Celebrates Africa, Textures Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, USA Women of the African Diaspora, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA Real Beauty, Contemporary Arts Centre, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
2004		Women of the World, Tallinn Art Hall, Estonia; Gerduberg Cultural Centre, Reykjavik; Akureyri Museum and Hof Cultural and Conference Center, Akureyri, Iceland; Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, Greece; International Museum of Women, San Francisco, California; Mobile Museum of Art, Alabama and Brenau University, Georgia, USA
2003		Women of the World, YWCA Women’s Art Gallery, Ohio, USA
2002		Women of the World, Volvo Museum, Stockholm, Sweden; University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland; University of New England, Maine and Tucson Museum of Art, Arizona, USA
2000		Women of the World, White Columns, New York; Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan, USA
1998		Global Women’s Project, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
1995		Holiday Art Show, Stanford University, California, USA
1994		The Ella Hill Hutch Art Exhibition, Ella Hill Hutch Center,San Francisco, California, USA
1991		Solo Graduate School Show, Wilshire/Sieroty Building, Los Angeles, California, USA
1988		Group Show, Alliance Française, Nairobi, Kenya
1987		Group Show, Goethe Institute, Nairobi, Kenya

Awards
2021		Charles Wollaston Award, Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2016		Long- listed, FT/OppenheimerFunds Emerging Voices Awards
2012		Sustainable Arts Foundation Spring Award The 11th Quilt Nihon Award
2010		San Antonio Artpace Travel Award Fiber Arts of San Antonio, Innovative Use of Material Award
1991		The Hilton International Award Art Council Award, University of California, Los Angeles, USA Penelope Rigby Fellowship, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Collections (Selected)

Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Latvia
International Museum of Women, San Francisco, USA
World Bank, Accra, Ghana
Vehbi Koç Foundation, Istanbul, Turkey

NAOMI WANJIKU GAKUNGA

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

SELECTED WORKS

FROM OUR STORE

NAOMI WANJIKU GAKUNGA

OCTOBER GALLERY ARTISTS