Janelle Gramling is a sculptor who works primarily in fiber, wood, and ceramic. Always mixed media, her work arranges materials to be in conversation with each other and explore the properties, contexts, and narratives within them. Her wall-hung and ceiling-hung installations and sculptures use gravity as an important element to activate the form. Common themes in her work include gender, sexuality, ecology, parenthood, and home through personal narrative and symbolism. Gramling is self-taught and community-taught in all of her ceramics and fiber art techniques. She lives in Milwaukee, WI with her 3 teenagers and runs a community art studio and gallery called Tooth and Nail.
In 2020 Gramling was awarded the Mary L Nohl Fund Fellowship for Individual Artists.
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Solo Exhibitions
2016 Symbiotic, Urban Ecology Center, Milwaukee, WI
Two-Person and Group Exhibitions
2023 Wisconsin Visual Artists Perspectives 2023 Exhibition, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, WI
2022 Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowship Exhibition, Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI
2022 30x30x30 Exhibition, Var Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2020 Final Exhibit: MARN Mentors 2019/2020 Season, Between Two Galleries, Milwaukee, WI
2020 Wisconsin Artist Biennial, Museum of Wisconsin Art, West Bend, WI
2019 Persistent Object, Between Two Galleries, Milwaukee, WI
2019 Final Exhibit: MARN Mentors 2018/2019 Season, Redline Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Forward 2018: A Survey of Wisconsin Art Now, Charles Allis Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Objects of Desire, Var Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2018 Working Pots III, James May Gallery, Algoma, WI
2017 Gift, Jazz Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2017 New North, Light Grey Art Lab, Minneapolis, MN
2017 30x30x30, Var Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2017 Amora, Hot Pop Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
2016 Waysides, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
2016 Patchwork, Honeypie Cafe, Milwaukee, WI
2016 My Candle Burns at Both Ends, Hot Pop Gallery, Milwaukee, WI
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From 2005 to 2012 Janelle Gramling ran her label Little Ocean, a line of jewelry and women's and children's clothing made with vintage and reclaimed materials. Also in 2005, in collaboration with other local artists and fashion designers, she opened a designer co-op and boutique in Milwaukee, WI named Fasten. She co-managed and operated Fasten until 2009.
From 2007-2009 Janelle taught monthly sewing classes for the community through Fasten. Also through the designer co-op she organized, produced, and participated in over a dozen fashion shows in Milwaukee venues to showcase local talent.
After stepping away from the designer co-op and clothing design, Janelle began exploring new methods in fiber arts. Continuing on her autodidact journey of independent study and sourcing knowledge from individuals in the community, she picked up weaving, fiber sculpture, plant-based dye techniques, shibori techniques, and quilting.
In 2012, Gramling had an opportunity to learn ceramics and fell in love with the medium. She continues to explore possibilities in clay while still expanding her vocabulary in the fiber arts. The marriage of the two materials is her current passion.
In addition to showing in gallery and museum exhibitions, Gramling also shows and sells her smaller works in independent boutiques nationally and abroad. She has done collaborative and custom work with interior designers, art directors, and art consultants across the US for dozens of clients including luxury hotels and restaurants. She has also done public art projects through Milwaukee organization Artist Working in Education.