Michelle Grabner
Artist(s)
Born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin (1962)
Lives and works in Oak Park, IL
EDUCATION
1990 M.F.A. Art Theory and Practice, Northwestern University
1987 M.A. Art History, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Thesis: "Postmodernism: A Spectacle of Reflexivity"
1984 B.F.A. Painting and Drawing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013 Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, curated by David Norr
Autumn Space, Chicago, IL
Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
Shane Campbell Gallery, Lincoln Park, Chicago, IL
Brendan Fowler, Michelle Grabner, Shane Campbell Gallery, Oak Park, IL
2012 Cottage Works, Green Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
MICHELLE GRABNER: THE INOVA SURVEY, curated by John Riepenhoff, INOVA, The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
Against New York, Galleri Kant, Copenhagen, Denmark
Black Swan, Shane Campbell Gallery, Oak Park, IL
Oshkosh, PS, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2011 Like a Rare Morel, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road? Original Jokes about the Suburban and the Poor Farm by the Artists Who Exhibited
There, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT
2010 I speak now from the aesthetic and artistic point of view when I say that life with Michelle Grabner is dull. Leo Koenig
Projekte, New York, NY
FLAPJACK, Rocket, London
Get Better Mrs. Michelle, Minus Space, Brooklyn, NY
Chaos is rigidly structured in this chapter, Peregrine Program, Chicago, IL
2009 Silverpoints with Guest Mobile, Green Gallery East, Milwaukee, WI
SILVERPOINTS, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
ROUND SILVERPOINTS, Shane Campbell Gallery, Oak Park, IL
2008 SILVERPOINTS, PS, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Remain in Light, survey exhibition, Ulrich Museum, Wichita, KS
New Bedford Art Museum, Vault Series, New Bedford, MASS
2007 Michelle Grabner's Never Quite Happy Home, Southfirst, Brooklyn, NY
Please Return My Kenneth Noland Catalogue, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
Please Return My Kenneth Noland Catalogue, PS, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
Michelle Grabner, 809 Calgary, Canada
Remain in Light, survey exhibition, Wriston Art Center, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI
2006 1996-2006, Rocket, London, UK
Remain in Light, survey exhibition, University Galleries, Illinois State University
2005 Project Room, Wendy Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL
2004 Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston
2003 Rocket, London, UK
Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, Australia
2001 Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Ten in One Gallery, New York, NY
A Little Less of Me, Deluxe Projects, Chicago, IL
Ten in One Gallery: Project Space, New York, NY
2000 Suburban Abstraction, Rocket, London, UK
Ten in One Gallery, New York, NY
1999 In Situ, Aalst, Belgium
Ten in One Gallery, Chicago, IL
Hermetic Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Paintings for Modern Chairs, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
1998 Home Painting, Rocket, London, UK
Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Fuzzy, ICA, Portland, ME
Safety Patterns, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Safety Patterns, Rocket, London, UK
1997 Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
INOVA (Institute of Visual Arts), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI
1996 Ten in One Gallery, Chicago, IL
Hermetic Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2013 Group show curated by Shane Campbell, Federica Schiavo Gallery, Rome
To Pack and Wear, Kate Werble Gallery, New York, NY
On the Grid, curated by Sima Familant Lu Magnus, New York, NY
Work, organized by Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Klaus Von Nichtssagend Gallery, New York, NY
Faux Life, Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Buzz, curated by Vik Muniz, Nara Roesler, Sao Paolo, Brazil
Spectator Sports, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
PS, Galerie Ruth Leuchter, Dusseldorf, Denmark
19516 kilometers from Milwaukee or 12126 miles, Misako & Rosen, Tokyo, Japan
Selected Works, Southfirst, Brooklyn, NY
Compilation | painting, photography, sculpture, Rocket, London, UK
Point of Departure, The Arcade, Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Inaugural Exhibition, Museum of Wisconsin, West Bend, WI
2012 Chris Bradley, Michelle Grabner, Suzanne McClelland, Amanda Ross-Ho, Lisa Williamson, Shane Campbell Gallery: Lincoln
Park, Chicago, IL
Lucie Fontaine: Estate, Marianne Boesky Gallery, 64th Street, New York, NY
Land of the Seven Moles, PS, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Les Détours de l'abstraction, MUDAM, Luxembourg
The Indiscipline of Painting: International Abstraction from the 1960s to Now, Mead Gallery, University of Warwick, UK
More and Different Flags, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
Neither Here Nor There But Anywhere, MINUS SPACE, Brooklyn, NY
Time Flies: 2 Years at Drive-By, BK Projects, Boston, MA
TIME, Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Ongoing Minimalism (Stefan Eberstadt, Michelle Grabner, Ditty Ketting, Will Taylor, Lars Wolter), Rocket, London, UK
MINUS SPACE: Editions & Multiples, curated by Matthew Deleget & Emi Winter, Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca, Oaxaca,
Mexico
Did You See Heaven, Peregrine Program, Chicago, IL
First Love, O'Connor Gallery, Dominican University, River Forrest, IL
Tops, curated by Sun Yu, Open Space, Long Island City, NY
Endless, PLUG PROJECTS, Kansas City, MO
Total RECALL, two-person exhibition with Brad Killam, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Critology, Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University, NC and California State, University Los Angeles
Art Galleries, CA
THE, Alternative Projects, Milwaukee, WI
2011 A Painting Show, curated by Laura Raicovich and Jessie Washburne-Harris, Harris Lieberman, New York, NY
The Indiscipline of Painting: International Abstraction from the 1960s to Now," Tate St. Ives, UK
Women and Weaving: Polly Apfelbaum and Ariel Dill, Southfirst, Brooklyn, NY
Handler (a series of collaborative figurative sculptures presented by John Riepenhoff), featuring the paintings of Peter Barrickman,
Michelle Grabner, Nicholas Frank, Jose Lerma, Scott Reeder and Tyson Reeder, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
DING DONG, a collaboration with Brad Killam, Terrain, Oak Park, IL
Museum of Milwaukee Art, Green Gallery at 47 Canal, New York, NY
Dressing the Monument, curated by John Riepenhoff and Piper Marshall, Lynden Sculpture Garden, Milwaukee, WI
KISS: New Sincerity & New Romanticism in Art, Clara M Eagale Gallery, Murray State, Kentucky
A Shot in the Dark, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
SCULPTURE GARDEN/PAINTING SHOW, curated by Andrew Greene, Iceberg Projects, Chicago, IL
Ways of Making: Work on Paper, Visual Arts Gallery, Governors State University, IL
Michelle Grabner and Sarah Blyth-Stephens, U.turn Art Space, Cincinnati, OH
MARKED, Kittridge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Washington
Unfinished Paintings: Unresolved Work by 40 Contemporary Artists, LACE, Los Angeles, CA
Between This Light and That Space, MINUS SPACE, curated by Doug Melini, Brooklyn, NY
Free Range-Painting and the University of Pennsylvania, Morgan Gallery, University of Philadelphia, PA
2010 Collaborating with Michelle Grabner isn't as much fun as you might think it is, Gallery 16, San Francisco (two-person show
with Brad Killam)
Michelle Grabner and Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe, Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
The Elegant Drawing Show, Drive-By, Boston, MA
Ornament and Crime (and Crime), Adds Donna, Chicago, IL
UND#6, Schwartz Gallery, London, UK
Newtonland: Orbits, Ellipses and other Planes of Activity, White Flag Projects, St. Louis, MO
Mother, NYU Steinhardt Commons Gallery, New York, NY
Art Scout, Arlington Art Center, Arlington, VA
Borderland Abstraction, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
Don't Piss on Me and Tell Me it's Raining, curated by Bad at Sports, Apex Art, NY
Emerging from a New Known, New York, NY; curated by Douglas Melini
On Painting, Julius Caesar, Chicago, IL
My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble, La Station, Nice, France
2009 Halbjahresgaben, Tanzschule, Munich, Germany
SUBVISION, Hamburg, Germany
Constellations: Paintings from the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Open House For Butterflies, MINUS SPACE Project Space, Brooklyn, NY
PS, The Highland Institute for Contemporary Art, Inverness, Scotland
Because the Night, curated by Sabina Ott, Guggenheim Gallery, Chapman College, Los Angeles, CA
Wallgasm, Angstrom Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Let's Leave It at That..., Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
of or relating to the sky or visible heavens, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
De-Centered Practice, curated by Jennifer Dudley, Ethan Greenbaum, Colleen Asper, Circus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
PS 1999-2009, Kunstruimte09, Groningen, Holland
Trance, Chance, Dreams and the Unconscious, Southfirst, Brooklyn, NY
2008 Presents, curated by Milwaukee International, Rowley Kennerk, Chicago, IL
Sensory Overload: Forces of Light Sound and Motion, The Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
UND CROXHAPOX, Ghent, Belgium
NOLEFTOVERS, Kunsthalle, Bern, Switzerland
These Are The People In Your Neighborhood, Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
2007 Maximinimalist, INOVA, The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI
Fast Forward: The School of the Art Institute in the 21st Century, Rockfort Art Museum, IL
2006 Eldorado: with Gaylen Gerber, Musee d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg
Figures in the Field, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Outside Europe: From the Daimler art Collection, Stadtgalerie, Keil, Germany
The Believers, Franklin Hudson Gallery, New York, NY
Strange Days, Samuel P. Harn Museum, Gainsville, FL
Slowness, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, IL
2005 There's a City in My Mind, Southfirst, Brooklyn, NY
Summer Show, Marlborough Gallery, Madrid
Group Show, Marlborough Gallery Chelsea, New York, NY
Op-ish, Sampson Projects, Boston, MA
Good Vibrations, McKenzie Fine Art, New York, NY
Rocket at Paragraph, Paragraph, Kansas City, MI
Slow Down, University of Texas at Tyler, TX
2004 Minimalism and After III, DaimlerChrysler AG, Berlin, Germany
Group Exhibition, Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY
Project, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Hubris, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Agnes Martin, Cheonae Kim, Michelle Grabner, Klein Gallery, Chicago, IL
Strange Days, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Apartment Series #4: A component of Jeremy Boyle's exhibition, Mattress Factory, PA
Books and Shelves, Gahlsberg Art Gallery, College of DuPage, IL
Summer Group Show, Wendy Cooper Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003 Michelle Grabner and Carla Arocha, Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Clarity of Vision: Minimalist Prints and Drawings, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
Michelle Grabner and Barbara Heath, Occasional Art, St. Paul, MN
The Undertones, Ten in One Gallery, New York, NY
Oak Park Home Works: Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam, Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
2002 Pressing, object [...], Antwerp, Belgium
Loaded, Midway, Minneapolis, MN
Painting, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, WI
Home Work, Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham, England
Paper Products, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL
Works on paper, Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery, Houston, TX
2001 Sound Video Images Objects, Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, IL
Reductive, Finesilver Gallery, San Antonio, TX
Domestic Culture, Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME
Counting Color, Rocket Gallery, London, UK
Mary and Leigh Block Museum, Northwestern, Evanston, IL
Armory Show, New York, Ten in One Gallery
Post Hypnotic: Naples Museum of Art, Naples, Florida; Tweed Museum of Art, University of Minnesota, Duluth
2000 Compression, Feigen Contemporary. New York, NY
What's New, Lendl Eugen, Graz, Austria
Domestic Bliss, Rocket Gallery, London, UK
OIL, Standard Gallery, Chicago, IL
Factory Soiree, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Michelle Grabner and Robin Dash, Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston, MA
Telesthesia and Amnescopic, Betty Rymer Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Post Hypnotic: Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL; Atlanta College of Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Minimal Pop, Traywick Gallery, Berkeley, CA
Out of Line, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL
1999 Post Hypnotic: Illinois State Art Gallery, Bloomington, IL; The Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati; The MAC Dallas, TX
It Looks Easy, Gallery 400, UIC, Chicago, IL
Abstract Chicago, Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL
Milwaukee Love, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Color Theory, College of Visual Arts, St. Paul, MN
1998 Michelle Grabner/Jim Isserman, Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
A Show, Ten in One Gallery, Chicago, IL
Chicago Hip, Rocket Gallery, London, UK
1997 Uncomfortable Show, TZ Art & Co., New York, NY
Some Young Fun, Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Post-Pop, Post-Pictures, Smart Museum, University of Chicago, IL
Distraction, TBA Gallery, Chicago, IL
Cool Painting, Barat College, Chicago, IL
Wisconsin Art Since 1990: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
1996 Mist: Kay Rosen, Julia Fish, Carla Priess and Michelle Grabner, Hermetic Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
Wisconsin Triennial, Madison Art Center, Madison, WI
1995 25 Americans: Paintings in the 90s, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
"Michelle Grabner: The INOVA Survey" exhibition catalogue with contributions by Nicholas Frank, Molly Zuckerman Hartung, John Riepenhoff, published by Green Gallery Press and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2013
Sarah Trigg, Studio Life: Rituals, Collections, Tools, and Observations on the Artistic Process, Princeton Architectural Press, 2013
Griff Williams, "Celebrations, Broken Hearts and Autopsies: An Interview with Michelle Grabner," SFAQ, June 2013
Christina Schmid, Criticism on the Spot," Brooklyn Rail, May 3, 2013
Caroline Picard, "Embracing the Cliché: An Interview with Michelle Grabner," Art21.org March 26, 2013
Angela McManaman, "Many Curators are Called," UWM Alumni Magazine, Spring p. 22-23.
Julia Halperin, "26 Questions for Tondo Painter Michelle Grabner," ARTINFO, February 19, 2013
Jason Foumberg, "Artist Ascending: Chicago responds to Michelle Grabner's appointment as 2014 Whitney Biennial Co-Curator," New City, December 2, 2012.
Lauren Weinberg, "Michelle Grabner named Whitney Co-curator, Chicago Time Out, Dec 5, 2012
Carol Vogel, "For the Whitney Biennial, One show, Three Visions," New York Times, November 30, 2012
Mary Louise Schumacher, "Michelle Grabner named curator of Whitney Biennial," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 29, 2012.
"Art 50: Chicago's Artists' Artists," New City, September 19, 2012
Kat Murrell, "Michelle Grabner Looks Back and Moves On, Express Milwaukee, September 5, 2012
Judith Ann Moriarty, "Michelle Grabner, deja vu all over again," The Third Coast, August 5, 2012
Linda Yablonsky, The 4th "Annual Dallas Art Fair," Artnet, May 1, 2012
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung, "Visiting Artist" column, NewCity, April 5, 2012. p. 10
"In Conversation: Michelle Grabner and Barry Schwabsky," (cover image) The Brooklyn Rail, March 2012, pp. 24-27
Oliveria, Filipa, "The Indiscipline of Painting," Artforum.com, 2012
Schumacher, Mary Louise, Michelle Grabner at the Green Gallery, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb. 24, 2012
Moriarty, Judith Ann, "Michelle Grabner: Homespun Sophistication," ThirdCoast Digest, January 24, 2012
Martin Clark (Editor), Sarah Shalgosky (Editor), Daniel Sturgis (Editor), The Indiscipline of Painting, Tate Publishing, October 1, 2011
Boucher, Brian, "New York Gets Green, Milwaukee Style," Art in America Review, August 18, 2011
Women and Weaving, Southfirst, The New Yorker, July 15, 2011
Schmerler, Sarah, "Between This Light and That Space," Time Out New York, July 11, 2011
Canevet, Rozenn, "Chicago City Report, Art Press, July 2011, pp. 88-89
Cheh, Carol, "Lace's 'Unfinished Paintings' show Asks the Question: What Makes a Painting Unfinished," LA Weekly, June 22, 2011
Waxman, Lori, "An Alternative to Summer Reading List," Chicago Tribune, July 13, 2011
Neff, John, "On Chicago Abstraction: A Series," New American Painting / Blog February 17, 2011
Baker, Kenneth, Where collaboration Ends, San Francisco Chronicle, December 11, 2010
Vanderhyden, Philip. The Secret of My Success, Lobby catalogue, College of DuPage, 2010
Saltz, Jerry, "Critics Pick" New York Magazine, May 2010
Heti, Shelia, The Studio Reader, Bookforum, May 25, 2010
Viera, Lauren, "Suburban Makes Its Mark on Urban Scene," Chicago Tribune, Sept. 12, 2010
Sam, Sherman, Kultureflash, June 10, 2010
Michelle Grabner at Rocket, Abstract Painting England, June 9, 2010
Claudine Ise talks with Michelle Grabner about The Suburban, Art21.org, June 2010
"The Pragmatist: Michelle Grabner interviewed by Saul Ostrow," Art in America, March 2010
Bad at Sports podcast with Annika Marie, Richard Holland and Duncan McKenzie (episode 232), 2010
Weinberg, Lauren, "Constellations at the MCA," Art News, December 2009
Velez, Pedro, "Chicago Build Up," Artnet, March 2009
Cozzone, Francesca, "Attempting the Impossible," The Leader, March 26, 2009
Marie, Annika, "Michelle Grabner's Black Circle Paintings," catalogue essay, 2009
Elms, Anthony, "Michelle Grabner/The Suburban," Modern Painters, March 2008
Remain in Light, exhibition catalogue with essays by, Lane Relyea, Peter Ribic 2008
Marple, Mieke, "Interview with Michelle Grabner," The Highlights, March 2009
Rosen, Kay, ArtForum, Top 10 April 2007.
Nicholas Frank, "Paper Thin and Maximinimalism," Catalogue essay, INOVA 2007
Joanna Topor, "After Paschke," Chicago Magazine, April, 2007.
Vogt, Jess, "The Suburb," The Lawrentian, Appleton, WI, January 2007
Martini, Tiffany, Michelle Grabner makes a Good point," San Francisco Examiner, March 20, 2007
Artner, Alan, "Grabner's Solo Show Reveals Pop Influences," Chicago Tribune, January 19, 2007
Bad at Sports podcast with Gaylen Gerber and Duncan McKenzie (episode 93), 2007
Weinberg, Lauren, Michelle Grabner at Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago TimeOut, January 25-31, 2007, p. 67.
Schwabsky, Barry, "Michelle Grabner at Rocket" Artforum, fall 2006
Wayne Roosa, "The Pleasures of Merely Circulating," exhibition catalogue, 2006
Timeout, London, August 10, 2006
Hoare, Lottie, "1996-2006 Michelle Grabner Paintings," exhibition catalogue, Rocket Gallery, London
Bredin, Lucinda, The Week, London, July 22, 2006
Myers, Terry, "Time is on Our Side," exhibition essay, Slowness, Heaven gallery, 2006
Bad at Sports podcast with Richard Holland and Duncan McKenzie, 2005 and 2006
Arney, Steve, "Art for the Artist," The Pantagraph, March 2006
Rubi, Amalia, USA Hoy Pintura y escutura Norte Americana, El Punto, Julio 2005
Artner, Alan, Michelle Grabner at Wendy Cooper Gallery, Chicago Tribune, May 20, 2005
Ott, Sabina, "Michelle Grabner at Wendy Cooper" Stretcher, 2005
Seidel, Florian, Bauwelt, September 2004
Rundfunk, Bayerischr, BR-Online, September 2, 2004
Gotz, Henning, Go Munchen, September 19, 2004, p. 77
Schwarz, Franziska, SzeneMagazin, September 9, 2004
Dattenberger, Simone, Munchener Merkur, August 27, 2004
Huber, Cornelia, AZ Wochenende, August 22, 2004
Schneeberger, Ruth, Munchner Kultur, August 21, 22, 2004
Eisenack, Marco, SZ-Extra, August 2004, p. S1
Hannum, Terence, "Inner Positive," Artnet, April 15, 2004
Saunders, Gill, "Purl: Six Artists inspired by MoDA's Collection," Catalogue Essay, 2004
Workman, Michael, "Modest Minimalism," New City, February 25, 2004.
Miles, Christopher, "Tracking Patterns, Report from Santa Monica II," Art in America, February 2004, p. 80.
Van Proyen, Mark "Michelle Grabner and Brad Killam'" Gallery 16" Art in America, October 2003 pp. 144-145.
Kirk, Sarah, "The Path of Minimalism," Milwaukee Art Museum Publication, 2003
Van Dyke, Aaron, "The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful," Occasional Art Publication, 2003
Stein, Lisa, "Artist Profile," Chicago Tribune, May 26, 2002
Artner, Alan "Paper Exhibition Breaks Out into a New Dimension" Chicago Tribune, March 21, 2002
Levin, Kim, Michelle Grabner, Village Voice, November 20, 2001
Thompson, Nato, "Michelle Grabner" FGA, 2001
Dailey, Meghan Michelle Grabner, TimeOut New York, November 20 - December 6, 2001
Campbell, Shane, "Sweetness and Light," catalogue essay, 2001
Frank, Nicholas, "Over The Rainbow: A Survey of Goodness," catalogue essay, 2001
Campbell, Shane, Sound Video Images Objects, Flash Art, July - September 2001 p. 70.
Glueck, Grace, "Art in Review: Compression," The New York Times, January 2, 2001
Waxman, Lori, "Electraslip Knife," New Art Examiner, November 2000
Cotter, Holland, "Surging into Chelsea," The New York Times, Friday, January 21, 2000, Section E, pp. 37 & 41
Naves, Mario, "Noguchi and Kelly Talk: Pollock's True Legacy," The New York Observer, February 14, 2000 p.14
Roch, Kate and Neal, Jennifer, "Chicago Headliners," AHEAD, Spring 2000
Bulka, Michael, "Electraslip Knife," New City, July, 6, 2000
Helfand, Glen, "Critics Choice: Minimal Pop," San Francisco Bay Guardian, May 3, 2000
Radio Interview with Victoria Lautmann, WBBZ, Chicago's NPR station, May, 11, 2000
Shane, Nicola, "Money Matters," Art Review, June, 2000 p. 6-7
Laridaer, Cheryl, "ROYGBIV," Post-Crescent, Sunday, February 27, 2000
Gustafson, John, "It Looks Easy: A Cross Section of Recent Painting in Chicago," New Art Examiner, December/January, pp. 49-50.
Lambrecht, Luk, "Kunstgrepen," Brussels Daily News, May 1999
Artner, Alan, "Grabner Homes in On Subject Matter," Chicago Tribune, May 27, 1999, sec. 2, p.2
Snodgrass, Susan, "Letter from Chicago," C, May-August, 1999, p. 21
Snodgrass, Susan, "Report from Chicago," Staying Alive, Art in America, April, 1999, pp. 81-87
Auer, James, "Work Added to Sesquicentennial Portfolio," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wed. May 12, 1999, Cue 3E
Brehmer, Debra, "Snow White," Metro Milwaukee Weekly, January, 1999
Radio Interview with Russell Panczenko, Wisconsin Public Radio, March 1999
Porges, Tim, "A Demolition Derby of Art," The Octopus, Bloomington, IL, January 15-21, 1999, p. 11
Bonettti, David, "Gallery Watch," San Francisco Examiner, Friday December 18, 1999
Baker, Kenneth, "At Home with Grabner and Isermann," San Francisco Chronicle, December 1999
Sans, Jerome, "Home Painting," exhibition catalogue, Rocket Gallery, London 1999
Bamberger, Tom "Where Have All the Artists Gone," Milwaukee Magazine, January 1999, pp. 45-53
Miller, Cliff, "Sesquicentennial Art Show Bear's Appleton's Signature: Prosse, Grabner Play Prominent Roles," Appleton Post-Crescent, December 3, 1998
Guha, Tania, "Michelle Grabner at Rocket Gallery," TimeOut London, August 26-September 2, 1998
Tan, Eugene, "Michelle Grabner," Contemporary Visual Arts, Issue 19 (Summer) 1998, p. 67
Lusher, Tim, "Michelle Grabner: Home Painting," Evening Standard, June 4, 1998, Hot Tickets, p. 43
Miller, Cliff, "Lasting Tribute," Appleton Post Crescent, July 27, 1998 pp. C1-C3
Mickelson, Sandy, "The Art of Intrigue," Oshkosh Northwestern, July 23, 1998, pp. C1-C2
Ullrich, Polly, "The Workmanship of Risk: The Re-emergence of Handicraft in Postmodern Art, New Art Examiner, April, 1998, pp. 24-29
Saltz, Jerry, "Uncomfortable," TimeOut New York, July 31-August 7,1998, p. 41
Smith, Courtenay, "Post-Pop, Post-Pictures," Smart Museum, University of Chicago (exhibition catalogue) 1997
Maldonado, Ed, Nadine Wasserman, and Tina Wasserman, Distraction, TBA Exhibition Space, Chicago (exhibition catalogue) 1997
Kind, Joshua, "Post-Pop, Post-Pictures," New Art Examiner, November 1997, pp. 54-55
Hawkins, Margaret, "Gen X Artists Flaunt Their Indifference," Chicago Sun-Times, September 5, 1997, p. 18
Auer, James, "Tracking the Rising Stars in Art, Music, Dance Theater," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sunday, August 24, 1997, p. Cue E5
Wasserman, Nadine, "Michelle Grabner at UWM Art Museum," New Art Examiner, October 1997.
Auer, James, "Painter's Work Takes a Deep, Concentrated look at Surfaces," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 28, 1997, p.2E
Iannaccone, Carmine, "Michelle Grabner at Richard Heller," Frieze, May/June 1997
Artner, Alan, "Distraction," Chicago Tribune, Friday, May 2, 1997 Tempo p. 2
Pagal, David, "Michelle Grabner at Richard Heller," Los Angeles Times, Thursday, January 20, 1997 Section F, p.1
Forgacs, Eva, "Michelle Grabner at Richard Heller," Art Issues, March/April 1997
Carley, Michal, "Michelle Grabner at Hermetic Gallery," Art Papers, March/April 1997
Frank, Nicholas, "If Walls Could Talk," Hermetic Gallery, Milwaukee, exhibition catalogue 1997
Aukeman, Anastasia, "Small Budget, Large Ambition," Artnews (Special:The Cutting Edge,) October 1997 pp. 46-54
Auer, James, "State Wide Show Embraces Vast Array of Styles," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sunday, November 3, 1996 pp. 1 & 7
Taylor, Sue, "Michelle Grabner at Ten in One Gallery," Art in America, September, 1996 pp. 115-116
Yood, James, "Michelle Grabner at Ten in One Gallery," Artforum, Summer 1996 p. 112
Scarborough, James, "Michelle Grabner at Ten in One Gallery," New Art Examiner, April 1996 pp. 43-44
Porges, Timothy, "In With the Out Crowd," Dialogue, May-June 1996 pp. 14-15
Artner, Alan, "Domestic Turns Abstract in Grabner's Work," Chicago Tribune, March 22, 1996 Section 7, p. 22
Sobel, Dean, "25 Americans: Painting in the 90s," exhibition catalogue, Milwaukee Art Museum 1995
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
MUDAM - Musée d'Art Moderne Luxemburg
Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Daimler Contemporary, Berlin
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Artist Pension and Trust participant since 2004
s
Press Release(s)
SHAHEEN modern and contemporary art is delighted to announce an exhibition of new paintings by Chicago based artist Michelle Grabner. This exhibition, which focuses on two aspects of Grabner's large and eclectic body of work, coincides with the artist's current retrospective at MOCA Cleveland. There is an opening reception for the artist on Saturday, January 4th from 7-9:00 p.m. The exhibition will continue through February 28th.
The visually and materially diverse body of work that Michelle Grabner has produced to date derives largely from her domestic experiences and surroundings, and the vast array of roles that she has assumed and maintained over the course of her 25 years in the artworld. Grabner's efforts to balance her simultaneous and constantly expanding roles as a highly regarded artist, curator, teacher, writer, mother, and owner / director of the Suburban, the well known and widely respected gallery that she maintains in her home community of Oak Park, Illinois have imposed an ever-expanding set of limitations on her studio environment and time. These constraints have lead her to adopt a self-limiting systematic and rules based approach to painting, and pre-determined compositional strategies that, paradoxically, produce an nearly infinite variety of visual results from one work to the next.
The focal point of Grabner's exhibition at SHAHEEN are two strains of her wide-ranging artistic practice - her tondo / circular formatted silverpoints and Archimedes Spiral paintings. To make her spiral paintings, the artist works in flashe and black gesso on variously and proportionately sized tondo format canvases. The dot pattern compositions that characterize these works appear to radiate outwards in concentric rings from the center of the canvas, but actually unfold in a continuous spiral that begins from the center and proceeds outward until a dot falls off the edge of the support, at which point the painting is complete. Although the dots appear to be applied at precise intervals, the naturally varying pressure of Grabner's hand, the varying saturation / amount of paint on the brush at any given time, and her inability to maintain perfection in the spacing of the thousands of constituent dots as they spiral outward from the center produces a strong but not overwhelming optical effects.
Grabner's tondo silverpoints are realized through an age-old drawing process that was heavily employed by the Old Masters, but is almost rarely seen in contemporary art production. Effectively, silverpoint is a scratching technique, where a metal stylus is loaded up with silver and dragged across a gesso ground. Grabner's tondo silverpoints, which she executes on circular wood panels, find her starting from the edge of the support, working her way to the center along a straight edge, and then dragging the stylus back out to the perimeter along the same path. The process, which involves a constant expenditure and replenishment of the silver present on the stylus, yields rich, vibrant surfaces, as well as subtle but substantial variations in texture, tonality, color, and composition. Although silverpoint is a traditional drawing technique, Grabner treats and approaches her silverpoint works as paintings. Her domestic experience and surroundings are embodied in both her spiral paintings and silverpoints, and, both types of work conjure allusions to a number of visual and conceptual lineages and precedents within the context of post-war and contemporary art production. In addition to these two focused bodies of work, Grabner will include several examples of her new vernacular vocabulary via a selection of gingham and white relief paintings.
Over the course of her career to date, Michelle Grabner has garnered international acclaim as an artist, curator, teacher, writer and gallerist. Her work has been widely exhibited and collected in the U.S. and abroad, and resides in the permanent collections of The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Milwaukee Art Museum; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and numerous other museums and institutions. Grabner is a co-curator of the upcoming Whitney Biennial ( - at the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY), and is the first artist ever to curate the exhibition. A native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Grabner lives and works in Oak Park, Illinois, where she operates The Suburban, the highly and widely respected gallery that she co-founded with her husband Brad Killam, and teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Untitled, 2013
silverpoint and black gesso on wood panel
48 inch diameter