Michelle Grabner is a key figure in contemporary American art. Seamlessly blending her roles as an artist, curator, and art critic, she actively shapes today’s artistic landscape. Grabner has been teaching since 1996 and currently holds the prestigious title of Crown Family Professor of Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is also widely recognized for her groundbreaking projects and participation in major international exhibitions. Read more on chicagoka.
Academic Career
Grabner earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in painting in 1984, followed by a Master of Arts (M.A.) in art history in 1987 from the University of Wisconsin. Her master’s thesis and accompanying exhibition, titled Postmodernism: A Spectacle of Reflexivity, featured works by prominent artists like Richard Prince, Sherrie Levine, and Kay Rosen. In 1990, she received her Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) from Northwestern University.
Beyond her tenure at the Art Institute of Chicago, Grabner has held teaching positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cranbrook Academy of Art, the Yale Norfolk program, the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. In her academic work, she explores the intersection of artistic tradition and innovation, emphasizing the critical role local culture plays in shaping contemporary art.
Artistic Endeavors
Grabner’s work is featured in numerous prestigious museums and private collections worldwide. These include the Art Museum of West Virginia University in Morgantown, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Her art can also be found internationally in the DaimlerChrysler Collection in Berlin, the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Her first major retrospective, I Work From Home, was hosted by the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland in 2013–2014. Other notable solo exhibitions include A Minor Survey at MICKEY in Chicago (2023), Similitude at EFREMIDIS in Berlin (2022), and Michelle Grabner at the James Cohan Gallery in New York (2021).
Grabner has also participated in significant group exhibitions at Galerie Gisela Clement in Bonn, Germany; the Cleveland Museum of Art; La MaMa Galleria in New York; and PS in Amsterdam. Additionally, she has completed esteemed residencies at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, the Arts/Industry Foundry at the Kohler Company in Wisconsin, and Bullseye Glass in Oregon.
In 2014, Grabner co-curated the Whitney Biennial alongside Anthony Elms and Stuart Comer. Her curatorial portfolio also includes FRONT International in Portland (2016) and the 2018 Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, titled An American City.
Grabner is well-known for her enduring fascination with vernacular patterns drawn from everyday life. This interest shines through in her complex geometric works—featuring floral fractals, spirals, and starburst motifs—that nod to both the ancient history of ornamentation and the traditions of domestic craft. She actively engages in projects that explore how art interacts with community and local culture. Furthermore, Grabner is a dedicated advocate for emerging artists, supporting them through various residencies and mentorship programs. Her curatorial approach often involves activating unconventional spaces, such as factories, rural farms, or private studios, effectively taking art outside the traditional museum setting.
As a prolific writer, Grabner regularly contributes reviews to publications like X-tra, New City, and Artforum. In 2010, she co-edited The Studio Reader (University of Chicago Press) with Mary Jane Jacob. Later, in 2018, Grabner edited the two-volume exhibition catalog for An American City: Front International, published by the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Art Spaces
In 1999, Grabner and her husband, Brad Killam, founded The Suburban, an artist-run space in Oak Park, Illinois. This venue champions international contemporary art and continues its operations today in Walker’s Point.
In 2009, Grabner and Killam expanded their vision by opening The Poor Farm in rural Waupaca County, Wisconsin. This center is dedicated to hosting annual historical and contemporary exhibitions, lectures, performances, publications, and alternative educational programs. Since 2018, The Poor Farm has also facilitated a long-term research residency program known as Living Within the Play.
Grabner was named one of the 100 most influential women in the art world in 2014 and earned the title of Academician from the National Academy of Design in 2019. In 2021, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 2024, she was inducted into the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. Grabner is also a member of the International Association of Art Critics, participates in the Artist Pension Trust, serves on the Board of Trustees for the Milwaukee Art Museum, and works as a curator for the Kohler Company’s Arts/Industry program.
Today, Michelle Grabner remains one of the most influential figures in contemporary American art. By seamlessly intertwining her artistic practice with curation and education, she continuously pushes the boundaries of artistic research and innovation.