Gallery 16 hosts an artist talk with Michelle Grabner and G16 founder Griff Williams from 7PM on Friday, September 9th. Grabner Gingham is Michelle Grabner’s seventh exhibition with the gallery. Propelled by an interest in collaboration and community, Grabner and her husband Brad Killam founded two project spaces, The Suburban and The Poor Farm, in response to the idea that the suburbs are an overlooked site for avant-garde activities. “I do know that G16 was and is an important model for The Suburban. The Suburban’s anti-curatorial stance was underscored by the working pragmatics of a space like G16.” Gallery 16’s relationship with Michelle Grabner dates back to 1997 when her work was first presented. Griff Williams recalls, “My relationship with Michelle very much mirrors the lifespan of Gallery 16. We share a belief in championing artist’s labor and the hard work involved in supporting those values.”
Grabner’s curatorial practice, much like her studio work, aims to shift focus away from popularized notions of contemporary art authorship, evidenced in her efforts with the 2014 Whitney Biennial, the Portland2016 Biennial, and now the upcoming Cleveland Triennial in 2018. As a tenured professor at the Art Institute of Chicago, a seasoned curator, and a frequent contributor to Artforum and other publications, Grabner’s relationship to studio work is enriched by her participation in these many dimensions of the art world.
