Bio

Welcome to my Studio, where bright, tropical Hawai’i style meets the meticulous aesthetic of Japanese craftsmanship.

I’m Deanna, a metal and fiber artist currently living in Japan, who takes a single metal thread and creates meticulously stitched sculptures. My roots in textiles and my experience as a metalsmith bring a beautiful dichotomy to my crochet wire sculptures. I love how the simplicity of a hook and a metal thread become a voluminous, organic installation.

Creating artworks that combine the hard, masculine properties of metals with the soft, feminine textiles, transforms each piece into a stronger, more cohesive sculpture. Each of my designs show my fascination with transformation in our ever changing world.

The rich tropical waters around Hawai’i inspire my favorite color gradations; from the deep turquoise blues to sea foam greens to the silver sparkles of water splashing my toes in the sand. My contemporary wire crochet artwork provides a bright spot for unusual spaces.  Designing for interior decor and outdoor living spaces presents a fun challenge. Creating hand-crocheted, lighted water drops for gardens which double as winter suet feeders for the birds provides year-round practical use for my unique garden sculptures.

Have a question? Message me through the form below: Scroll further to see how my studio was set up in Hawai’i and to see my resumé – Thank You!

Resume

SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2015          Butterfly Rainforest: Preparing for Flight, Cairns Botanic Gardens, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
2014          Electric Butterflies, Shiro Oni Studio, Onishi, Gunma, Japan

CO_CURATOR:
2019 In the Details – Tokyo, Japan, Le Deco Gallery

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2021 Imagination for the Future – Gallery Keifu, Kyoto, Japan
2019 Aloha Spirit Hawai’i, Imago Mundi Project – Luciano Benetton Collection, Gallerie delle Prigioni, Treviso, Italy
2019 SICF20 (20th Spiral Independent Creators Festival) – Tokyo, Japan, Spiral Hall by Wacoal Art Center
2018 Turning the Page – Paper Gallery, Manchester, England
2018 Reading Between the Lines – Yokohama, Japan, LaunchPad Gallery
2018 Cosmopolitan Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan, Setagaya Art Museum Taiji Kiyokawa Memorial Annex
2018 Contact 2018: Contact Zone, Honolulu, Hawaii (Curated by Michael Rooks & Keola Naka’ahiki Rapozo)
2018 World Book Day, St. Helens, England
2018 729 Studios @ Aupuni Gallery, Honolulu, Hawaii
2017 Aloha Spirit Hawai’i, Imago Mundi Project – Luciano Benetton Collection, Koa Art Gallery, Honolulu, Hawaii
2017 Hawai’i Craftsmen – 50th Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition, Honolulu Museum of Art School Main Gallery, Honolulu, HI (Curated by Magdalene Odundo, OBE)
2017 Mori Pop-Up x Honolulu Biennial
2017, Honolulu, Hawaii (Curated by Mori by Art+Flea)
2016 First Friday, Ark of the Unicorns, Chinatown Artists Lofts, Honolulu, HI (Curated by Nanci Amaka)
2016 Impressions16, Print & Art Book Fair, Honolulu Museum of Art School, Honolulu, HI
2016 Mixed Media Miniature 19 – Koa Gallery, Honolulu, HI
2016 Mo’ili’ili Mural Project, Mccully & Algaroba Sts, Honolulu, HI, One Little “Island” Artist Collective (Photonworks Engineering, LLP)
2016 Hawai’i Craftsmen – 49th Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition, Honolulu Museum of Art School Main Gallery, Honolulu, HI (Curated by Cindi Strauss)
2016 In, Of, or About Fiber, Hawaii Craftsmen, Honolulu Museum of Art School Main Gallery, Honolulu, HI (Curated by Greg Kaufman)
2016 Selections from Contact 2016: Foreign and Familiar, The Arts at Marks Garage, Honolulu, HI (Curated by Isabella Ellaheh Hughes and Herman Piʻikea Clark)
2016 Until We Meet Again, One Little “Island” Artist Collective, Square Barrels, Honolulu, HI
2016 Contact 2016: Foreign and Familiar, Honolulu Museum of Art School, Honolulu, HI (Curated by Isabella Ellaheh Hughes and Herman Piʻikea Clark)
2015 Mixed Media Miniature 18 – Koa Gallery, Honolulu, HI
2015 Hawai’i Craftsmen – 48th Annual Statewide Juried Exhibition, Honolulu Museum of Art School Main Gallery , Honolulu, HI (Curated by Dr. Lowrey Stokes Sims)
2015 La Petite, One Little “Island” Artist Collective, Square Barrels, Honolulu, HI
2014 SPUN Fiber Exhibition, Etui Fiber Arts, Larcham, NY (Curated by Bartholomew Bland)
2014 Tokyo Art Book Fair, Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Art Byte Critique Group)
2013 Tokyo Spidering, Hagiso Gallery, Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Art Byte Critique Group)
2012 Art Divas, Main Street Gallery 5, El Cajon, San Diego, CA
2011 Metamorph-Us: Butterfly Garden, Burning Man, Black Rock City, NV
2008 Kanazawabunko Art Festival, Oppama, Japan

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
2017      Oil & Water Drop Project, Kaka’ako Agora, Honolulu, HI (w/Nanci Amaka) (Sponsored by POW!POW!Worldwide x HNL Night Market)
2017      Volunteer, Honolulu Biennial, Honolulu, Hawaii

RESIDENCIES:
2017, Artist-in-Residence, Ark of the Unicorns-Chinatown Artists Lofts, Honolulu, Hawaii
2015, Artist-in-Residence, Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
2014, Studio Residency, Shiro Oni Studio, Onishi, Gunma, Japan

WORKSHOPS TAUGHT:
Wire Crochet Workshops, Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, 2015
Private Crochet Tutorials, Yokosuka & Tokyo, Japan 2011 – 2015
Private Crochet Tutorials, San Diego, CA 2011

EDUCATION:
Japanese Ceramic Workshop – John Dix, Shiro Oni Studios, Gunma, Japan, 2014
Color Theory Drawing – Patti Fox Arts, San Diego, CA, 2011
Flower Garden Crochet Design – Barbara Chapman, San Diego, CA 2011
Chyoukin Metalsmith Design – Kamimura Yasasuge, Yokosuka, Japan 2005 – 2008
Stone Setting – Peter Robinson, Costa Blanca, Spain 2008
College of Fine Arts, Univ of NSW, Sydney, Jewellery Design, 2006
Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia Jewellery Manufacture, 2005
Bucks County CC, Advanced Jewelry & Silversmithing – Cris Martino,Pennsylvania 1998
Bucks County CC, Jewelry Design – Cris Martino, Pennsylvania, 1997

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
“Mural Fortitude.” Honolulu Magazine. by James Charisma (May 2017)
“Excerpt From Interview with Crochet Artist Deanna Gabiga.” Crochet Concupiscence. October 16, 2015 Vercillo, Kathryn.
“Artist Profile: Deanna Gabiga – Textile and Metalsmith Crochet Artist” Happily Hooked Magazine, Oct 2016.
“19 New Crochet Patterns + More (Link Love).” Crochet Concupiscence. (April 11, 2015)
Denise Carter, “American Metal and Fibre Artist…,” Cairns Eye (March 30, 2015 2:58pm)
PUBLICATIONS:
2009 – 2010   VivaLaModa Online Fashion Magazine, various jewelry fashion & stone purchasing articles

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