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12/6/2014

Michelle Grabner

Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie, Basel

Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie is very pleased to present the second exhibit featuring works by American conceptual artist and curator Michelle Grabner (1962). All works were created after co-curating the 2014 Whitney Biennial in New York. A sculptural installation, gold and silverpoint tondos, works on paper, photographs and relief paintings made specifically for the exhibit will be presented.

Grabner's work consists of identifying, indexing, and transposing patterns. She builds on elemental compositions that are foundational to the language of abstraction. The works in this exhibition feature various forms and materiality including metal-point drawings, paper weavings, photographs, and a collaborative hanging sculpture made with her husband Brad Killam. Grabner enthusiastically embraces found compositions such as radial symmetry, gingham weave, and simple warp-and-weft patterns. The repetitive re-articulating of vernacular motifs in Grabner's work disperses abstraction's authority into pragmatic and domestic systems of organization.

A new approach to presenting commonplace object has appeared in Grabner’s recent practice as she presents us with another variation of “My Oyster,” a series of hanging objects created with Brad Killam that amass a collection of personal studio elements. The hanging sculpture’s support is comprised of aluminum bleacher sections on which paintings, digital prints and metal points are displayed above a square wooden platform faced with a carpet of brightly colored paper weavings. The aluminum planks of the hanging sculpture present a selection of vernacular objects and commonplace images. Using two-dimensional vocabularies, Grabner presents the three-dimensionality of life in predictable rectangular or round formats.

Fixed patterns seem to move and take on warp or shallow depth even as they cling to the architecture of the wall. Printed cream, light blue and black gingham patterns on canvas remind us of household items, chores and woman’s work. Alternatively, the works show her expertise in seeing organizational structures embedded in our everyday life. Whether in a rectangular checkered format reminding us of dishtowels or round tondos with silver or gold-point that create depth, the works require precise knowledge and mastering of lines and space.

The materiality of her source material is as important as her repetitive process. Unique burlap weaving, gesso, and metal point are common physical elements employed to create abstract patterns. The haptic quality of her work underscores everyday structures, enthusiastic determination, and a commitment to the concepts of work.

Michelle Grabner is Professor in the Department of Painting and Drawing at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She recently curated the 4th Floor of the 2014 Whitney Biennial and had a mid-career retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, curated by David Norr (catalog). In addition to her art practice she also writes art criticism. Grabner and her husband Brad Killam run The Poor Farm (Manawa, Wisconsin) and the independent artist space The Suburban (Oak Park, Illinois) which was featured in Tate Modern’s 10 year anniversary exhibit No Soul For Sale in 2010. Her works are in the collections of the Milwaukee Art Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg and the Daimler Collection, Berlin.

Image: Michelle Grabner, Untitled, 2010. Silverpoint on canvas on wood, 0 x 0 Ø 152 cm

Opening: Friday, June 13, 6–8pm

Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie
Malzgasse 20 - CH-4052 Basel
Wednesday - Friday 13:00 - 18:00
Saturday 11:00 - 16:00
and by appointment
Exceptionally, the gallery will be open on Monday, June 16th from 10 AM – 1 PM.

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