KOHLER, Wis. – October 21, 2025 – Kohler Co., a global leader in kitchen and bath design and innovation and long-time champion of the arts, is proud to support the creative works of artist Michelle Grabner, whose latest art pieces – HOME RULES – are featured as part of the inaugural exhibition at the new Trout Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin. Many of the art pieces were created through a collaboration between Grabner and Kohler’s invitational artist residency program, Kohler MakerSpace. The exhibit is on view October 11, 2025 – January 18, 2026.

“As a hometown artist, I’m incredibly honored to open the Trout Museum’s main gallery,” said Grabner, who resides in Milwaukee, WI. “For this exhibition I’m working on a large installation of ceramic balloons, inspired by Andy Warhol’s mylar inflatable ‘clouds’."

The cast vitreous china balloons will fill the museum gallery, appearing to float, and cling to walls—activating the space in an excessively playful, celebratory way. She is also casting various brooms leaning on porcelain mats that are a sort of memento mori and speak to clean-up and the passage of time.

In addition to her work as a renowned artist, Grabner serves as curator of Kohler Co.’s Arts/Industry Collection – a collaborative residency program between the John Michael Kohler Arts Center and Kohler Co. Having celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, Arts/Industry invites artists inside Kohler’s factories – working alongside production technicians – to create pieces using vitreous china, cast iron, and brass.

Kohler MakerSpace debuted in 2023, and provides a dynamic, flexible space where artists and designers are invited to collaborate with skilled associates, experiment with industrial materials, and explore larger scale works that were commissioned or part of a gallery exhibit.

“The scale of casting in pottery and the working environment at Kohler simply cannot be duplicated. No matter how much an artist tries to replicate casting, glazing, or firing in an independent studio, the consistency of materials and industrial processes available at Kohler are unmatched,” said Grabner. “This reality shapes both my projects and my experiments. The intersection of mass production and artistic value becomes tangible on the factory floor. As a result, the work I have and will produce is extremely site responsive.”

“Since our founding, Kohler Co. has a set high standard for experimentation, discovery, and innovation, and we believe art inspires us to be bold,” said Laura Kohler, Chief Sustainable Living Officer at Kohler Co. “The creativity and collaboration that come out of Kohler MakerSpace allows artists, like Michelle, of varying disciplines to produce exceptional artwork using industrial techniques and materials for public view.”

Grabner’s recent exhibitions highlight the often-overlooked beauty of utilitarian objects. A selection of her work was on view at Cleveland’s Abattoir Gallery and in Under the Sink at the Haggerty Museum at Marquette University.

Created in the Kohler MakerSpace, her vitreous china sculptures reflect everyday custodial tools—sponges, sinks, mops, and spray bottles—elevating the aesthetics of labor and utility.

“This project was inspired by German photographer August Sander’s Cleaning Woman and a janitor cart I created for the John Michael Kohler Art Preserve in 2021—both reflecting my ongoing interest in overlooked labor and the aesthetics of maintenance,” said Grabner. “It’s been meaningful to work with institutions that recognize Kohler’s cultural legacy, and I’m honored my work can help connect new audiences to that history.”

Her retrospective, Underdone Potato, at the Schneider Museum of Art in Oregon explored themes of repetition and pattern, drawing inspiration from Gertrude Stein’s poetry and a reference to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

About Michelle Grabner

Michelle Grabner is an artist, writer, and curator based in Chicago and Milwaukee. She is the Crown Family Professor of Art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she has taught since 1996. Grabner is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, a 2018 National Academician at the National Academy of Design, and a 2024 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters Fellow. Exhibitions curated by Grabner include the 2014 Whitney Biennial and the FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, 2018. In 2021 she co-curated Sculpture Milwaukee with Theaster Gates. In 2024 she curated 50 Paintings, a survey of contemporary international painting at the Milwaukee Art Museum. As curator for the Arts/Industry Kohler Co. Collection and Kohler MakerSpace, Grabner curated the Arts/Industry 50th Collective exhibition in 2024, which is currently on view at The Shops at Woodlake in Kohler, Wisconsin.

About Kohler Co.

For more than 150 years, Kohler Co. has been a global leader in bold design and innovation, dedicated to helping people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives through its kitchen and bath products; luxury cabinetry, tile, and lighting; wellness products and services; and luxury hospitality experiences and major championship golf. Privately held Kohler Co. was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin. The company also develops sustainable living solutions to enhance the quality of life for current and future generations. Its Innovation for Good platform addresses pressing issues, such as clean water and safe sanitation, with breakthrough products and services for underserved communities. David Kohler serves as Chair and CEO and represents the fourth generation of Kohler family leadership.

Media Contact: Todd Weber
todd.weber@kohler.com

Media Assets: High-resolution image files