Since New American Paintings’ inception, we have collaborated with dozens of curators from throughout the country in our ongoing review of American painters. In fact, with the exception of the legendary art dealer Ivan Karp, every past juror has been a curator by trade. Over the years, many artists and subscribers have suggested to me that varying juror backgrounds would strengthen the publication. I have been listening, and I am pleased to announce that for the first time ever, an artist, Michelle Grabner, is at the helm of an issue of New American Paintings. 

 

Grabner has been a practicing painter since the early 1990s, and is widely known for her extraordinarily nuanced and rigorous brand of geometric abstraction. She also wears several other hats in the art world. Since 1996, Grabner has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she currently serves as Professor and Chair of the Painting and Drawing Department. She is also an active writer who has contributed to many publications, including Artforum and Frieze, and the co-founder of the well-regarded alternative space The Suburban in Oak Park, Illinois.

 

 

Beginning in late-2012, Grabner’s name was heard a lot around the art world. That is when the Whitney Museum of American Art announced that she would be one of three individuals in charge of organizing the 2014 Whitney Biennial.  Over the next twelve months she did what all Biennial curators must do: look at a lot of art and do a lot of studio visits. When all was said and done, Grabner’s floor of the Biennial was - by overwhelming critical consensus - the show’s highlight. Not surprisingly, it was also very painter friendly. 

 

 

We could not be more excited to see what Grabner does with this year’s Northeast completion the deadline for which is Midnight, August 31st. The publication that results from her selections will be released in February of 2015.