“The hands-on knowledge passed down to me from an early age instilled a lasting respect for resourcefulness, material integrity, and the cultural depth of making.

These principles continue to guide my work today.”

About Naomi Wanjiku

Naomi Wanjiku is a Kenyan artist whose sculptural practice draws from ancestral knowledge, material memory, and evolving cultural forms. Working primarily with sheet metal (mabati), stainless-steel wire, and fiber, she transforms inherited techniques into contemporary expressions of continuity and transformation.

Raised in Gacharage Village, Kenya, her early artistic foundation was shaped by her grandmother, from whom she learned to weave and spin yarn from native migiyo shrubs. This hands-on knowledge cultivated a lasting respect for resourcefulness, material integrity, and the cultural depth of making—principles that remain central to her work.

Naomi’s sculptures are deeply rooted in traditional Kenyan crafts, which she reimagines through a modern sculptural lens. Her work honors cultural lineage while exploring new formal and material possibilities.

She studied at the University of Nairobi and University of California (UCLA), and her work has been exhibited and collected internationally, including by the San Antonio Museum of Art, the National Museums of Scotland, the Museum of Textile in Latvia, the Vehbi Koç Foundation Contemporary Art Museum (Turkey), the US Embassy in Nairobi, the World Bank in Ghana, and the Henry B. González Convention Center in San Antonio.

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Exhibitions, Awards, Selected Reviews & Press

  • Material Sensibilities

    January 30th - March 1st 2025, October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street London UK, Opening Hours: 12:30 - 5:30pm

    • Updated Tradition, The Radius Center, San Antonio, Texas, Aug-Nov 2017

    • Tushauriane - Let’s Talk About It, October Gallery, London, UK, May-Jul 2017

    • Tafsiri - Interpretations, Bihl Haus Arts, San Antonio, Texas, Mar-May 2017

    • African Convergences, Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, Texas, Oct-Nov 2016

    • Cat’s Cradle, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma, May-Jul 2014

    • A Tradition of Strings, Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas, May-Jul 2013

    • Ituika -Transformation, October Gallery, London, UK, Sep-Oct 2013

    • Rio Design: A Contemporary Exhibition, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May-Jun 2012

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    • Between Yesterday & Tomorrow, Culture Commons, San Antonio, Texas, 2023

    • NYFA Immigrant Artist Exhibition, Centro de Artes, San Antonio, Texas, 2022

    • Breaching Boarders, International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland, 2019-2020

    • Ex-Africa, Museum of Archaeology, Bologna, Italy, Mar-Sep 2019

    • Admitted USA, Centro de Artes Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, Jun-Sep 2019

    • The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Show, London, UK, Jun-Aug 2018

    • The 6th Riga International Textile and Fiber Triennial, Latvia National Museum of Art, Riga, Latvia, Jun-Sep 2018

    • African Ancestral Legacies, The Museum of Geometric and MADI Art, Dallas, Texas, Jan-Apr 2018

    • Frieze New York, Randall’s Island Park, New York, New York, May 2017

    • Art Paris Art Fair, Paris, France, Apr 2017

    • Cape Town Art Fair, Cape Town, South Africa, Feb 2017

    • Also Known as Africa Art Fair, Paris, France, Nov 2016

    • Of Lace & Steel, Dock Space Gallery, San Antonio, Texas, Oct 2016

    • 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair, Somerset House, London, UK, Oct 2016

    • Flight Pattern, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, Jun-Jul 2015

    • The 5th Riga International Textile and Fiber Triennial, Latvia National Museum of Art, Riga, Latvia, Apr-Jun 2015

    • Africa Africans, Museu Afro Brazil, Sao Paulo Brazil, May-Aug 2015

    • Interwoven Histories, October Gallery, London, UK, Oct-Nov 2014

    • 1:54 London Contemporary African Art Fair, Somerset House, London, UK, Oct 2014

    • Threads That Bind: A Cultural Identity, Platt / Borstein Galleries, American Jewish University, Los Angeles, California, Sep-Dec 2014

    • Flight Pattern, Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, Apr 2014-Apr 2015

    • Art London 14, Olympia Grand, London U.K, Feb-Mar 2014

    • 1:54 London Contemporary African Art Fair, Somerset House, London, UK, Oct 2013

    • 14th International Triennial of Tapestry, Lodz, Poland, May-Nov 2013

    • Women, Peace, and Security Challenge, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, 2011

    • The Nest Heritage Prize (Finalist), 2023

    • The Charles Wollaston Award, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK, 2021

    • Emerging Voices Award Finalist, 2017

    • Fiber Arts of San Antonio Innovative Award, 2015

    • Sustainable Arts Foundation Spring Award, 2012

    • The 11th Quilt Nihon Honorable Mention Award, 2012

    • San Antonio Artpace Travel Award, 2010

    • Fiber Arts of San Antonio, Innovative Use of Material Award, 2010

    • The Hilton International Award, 1991

    • Art Council Award, University of California, Los Angeles, 1991

    • Penelope Rigby Fellowship, University of California, Los Angeles, 1991

    • Education Abroad Program Award, University of California, Los Angeles, 1990

    • Kenya Government Scholarship, University of Nairobi, Kenya, 1981-85

    • “Unity and Variety: A Conversation with Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga”, Sculpture Magazine, Apr 2018

    • “Art Essay: Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga’s Tushauriane – Let’s Talk About It”, Wasafiri, Winter 2017

    • “African Diaspora”, Surface Design Journal, Summer 2010

    • “Strings of Love: Inspiration from a Kenyan Tradition”, Quilting Arts Magazine, Apr/May 2009

Continuity and Transformation, Reimagined

Confluencing

Rebraiding

Upthreading

Mabati

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Where Naomi’s Art Lives

Public Spaces & Private Collections

  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington

  • University of Texas Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital, San Antonio, Texas

  • Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas

  • The World Bank, Accra, Ghana

  • Art in Embassies, US Department of State, Embassy of the US, Nairobi, Kenya

  • Tulsa Bank, Tulsa, Oklahoma

  • San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, Texas

  • Vehbi Koç Foundation, Contemporary Art Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

  • National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland

  • Museum of Decorative Arts and Design, Riga, Latvia

  • International Museum of Women, San Francisco, USA

  • Art House Lagos, Nigeria

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“I find myself transforming what I cannot say….

into what I can feel.”

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