Her MA thesis and exhibition was titled "Postmodernism: A Spectacle of Reflexivity" and included work by Richard Prince, Sherrie Levine, and Kay Rosen among others.
[10] The Indianapolis Museum of Art, MOCA Cleveland, Illinois State Galleries, and INOVA at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have each hosted survey exhibitions of Grabner's work.
Notable recent solo exhibitions include A Minor Survey at MICKEY, Chicago (2023); Similitude at EFREMIDIS, Berlin (2022); and Michelle Grabner at James Cohan, New York (2021).
She is a National Academician at the National Academy of Design; a Lifetime Distinguished Artist at the Union League Club of Chicago; a Trustee and member of the Acquisition Committee, Milwaukee Art Museum; holds a seat on the advisory Committee of the CUE Foundation New York; is a member of the International Association of Art Critics; and an Artist Pension and Trust Participant.
"[14] A 2023 Artforum review describes Grabner's "enduring interest in vernacular patterns drawn from domestic life" which informs works that "dazzle with intricate geometries—fractal arrays of flowers, starbursts, swirls, spirals—all of which emerge from deep histories of ornamentation that go back into antiquity and loop forward to grandmothers’ afghans.
[18] With her husband Brad Killam, she founded The Suburban[19] in Oak Park, Illinois in 1999 as a project space that honors the tradition of artist directed programs.
[21] The Poor Farm is dedicated to annual historical and contemporary exhibitions, lectures, performances, publications, screenings and alternative educational programs.