Adele Gaburo
Adele Gaburo is a New Jersey–born artist based in San Diego, California. Working primarily in mixed media sculpture, she explores the body through materials such as fabric and silicone for their uncanny ability to emulate human flesh. Her amorphous forms draw from her decade-long experience with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), transforming personal reflection into material expression. Since 2023, Gaburo has exhibited widely throughout Southern California and has received multiple awards for her work. She is a two-time recipient of the Gerald W. Fackler Remainder Trust Award from San Diego State University, where she earned her BA in sculpture in 2025. The same year, she was selected for the prestigious ICA Next Gen exhibition highlighting emerging contemporary artists. Gaburo is currently based in Santa Barbara, California, where she is working towards her MFA at UC Santa Barbara.
STATEMENT
My work examines body dysmorphic disorder and the shameful, empty, all consuming feelings of otherness that accompany it, giving physical form to an illness often buried and misunderstood. I describe my process as an “excavation”: an unearthing of emotions and lived experiences through which I confront my disorder with vulnerability and agency, becoming both the body on the table and the surgeon making the cut. Working primarily with fabric and silicone, I create soft sculptural forms that embody the squish, sag, and droop I once felt compelled to hide, meeting distortion and discomfort with tenderness rather than judgment. These works become acts of personal catharsis, transforming concealed feelings into tangible encounters. As my sculptures grow larger and increasingly intrusive toward the viewer’s space, they echo the invasive anxiety and self-critical voices of body dysmorphia, inviting viewers to glimpse its hidden turmoil. By making this experience visible, I hope to challenge stigma and isolation while creating space for empathy and honest connection around our complex relationships with our bodies.