"Material Haiku MMXXVI" by Gaby Oshiro
“These works do not decorate; they testify.”
Mixed media work by Gaby Oshiro
Carbondale Arts presents “Material Haiku MMXXVI”, a solo exhibition by Gaby Oshiro at the Carbondale Arts Gallery, on display April 17 - May 21, 2026. The opening reception will take place Friday, April 17, from 5-7pm at The Launchpad, with an artist talk at 5:30pm.
Note that there is another solo exhibition running concurrently (April 17 - May 21, 2026) in the gallery space:
“Kindred Spirits” by Christine Anderson & Benjamin Strawn
What started as a figurative investigation while attending fine arts school has turned into a divergent exploration on the evocative power of materials (paper, pumice, wheat paste, fibers), techniques (décollage, shodō, burning, ripping, tearing, stabbing), and the balance between: subtraction-addition, destruction-creation, chaos-order. The intention to control the unpredictable nature of an element like fire. The alchemy of materials and their particular properties create a symbolical reference to scars and lacerations. The observer can experience their own emotional response through contemplation, capitalizing on stored memories and associations. A painting is an aesthetic object with its own expressive power that acquires ontological status.
Rooted in the ethos of Arte Povera and the principles of wabi-sabi and Ma, Gaby Oshiro’s practice moves between creation and destruction. Rejecting the decorative, her work focuses on a painting that does not represent, but 'is' an autonomous presence. Gaby works with raw materials—mulberry (washi) paper, bamboo, pumice, and natural pigments—to construct surfaces that embody the threshold between transformation and annihilation.
These works do not decorate; they testify. The black in Gaby’s work is not an applied pigment, but the essence of matter transformed through the alchemy of fire. She explores how the painting exists as an ontological entity where the Ma—understood not as emptiness, but as a vital breath and a space of possibilities—defines the structure of the work. This process is an inquiry into the persistence of absence and the weight of collective memory, transforming the void into a space of quiet resistance and timeless presence.
Thank you to our generous exhibition sponsor!
DHM Design is a Colorado based landscape architecture and planning firm with a long-standing presence in downtown Carbondale. As designers, we value the role of art in shaping meaningful places and experiences. We are proud to support the Carbondale Arts Gallery and the local artists whose creative energy help make Carbondale a vibrant place to live and work.
Gaby Oshiro, Colorado Springs, CO
Gaby Oshiro is a visual artist based in Colorado. Trained at the Liceo Artistico Statale di Treviso in Italy and under Carlos Gorriarena in Argentina, her practice connects political memory with raw materiality. She is the daughter of Beba Bresolin—photographer and co-founder of the group Familiares de Desaparecidos de la Colectividad Japonesa—and Oscar Takashi Oshiro, a labor lawyer disappeared during Argentina’s military dictatorship.
Her primary research project, Kintsugi, examines this legacy through site-specific installations. The project debuted at the Espacio Cultural de la Biblioteca del Congreso de la Nación in Argentina and evolved into Kintsugi II: The Presence of Your Absence, presented at the Galleria dell'Artistico in Italy and the CMA Centro Municipal de Arte. Most recently, she was the Featured Artist for the Denver Art Museum’s Dream Studio (2024–2025).
Oshiro’s multidisciplinary approach extends to wearable art under her brand Deco-Boco. Collaborating with Carbondale Arts, she previously presented her collection "Ensō" for the Camera Obscura fashion show and is a returning designer for the 2026 "Step Right Up" show. Her design work has earned the People’s Choice Award at both Denver Fashion Week and the Ent Center for the Arts.
Learn more about Gaby on Instagram @oshirogk