“I’m seeking to create a bridge between older schools of painting where craft was essential and modern ideas, concerning freedom and paint itself. The abstract patterns that occur spontaneous in nature are a primary source of inspiration. Through observation of nature, endless variations of the most exquisite design are to be found.”
Alan Gramley is a painter who also plays music and makes art in the landscape, using organic and inorganic materials. His works explore the resonant sounds of the painted image and the hidden col0rs of musical expression. Studying old master painting with Alan Marsh in the early 1970’s, he and fellow artists Robert Chapman and Tom Ferrara began working in abstract painting under the guidance of the master painter and philosopher Conrad Fried. Since graduating from the Maryland Institute in 1977, Alan has continuously made paintings, and his works are in many private and public collections, including the Library of the Federal Reserve, Circuit Courthouse of Rockville, Montgomery College Art Department and the Franciscan Monastery in D.C. Alan has been living in Clarksburg, Maryland with his wife Betty for 32 years, where they tend 1.25 acres of cultivated flowerbeds and ornamentals, including over 100 old and modern roses. Alan is currently working on his next body of artwork, playing guitar with various performing musicians throughout the area, and weeding or otherwise working on the property.
Born: 1954 Indiana
Formal Education and Training
1982 Assistant to Elaine de Kooning, Bridgehampton, NY
1977 – 1982 Apprentice to Conrad Fried, Rockville, MD
1977 MD Institute College of Art, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Magna cum laude
1976 Montgomery College, Rockville, MD
Select Exhibitions
Riverworks Art Center: Some call it home. July 2023, Poolesville, MD
Gallery East Group Shows 2018 – 2022, Adamstown, MD
Hyattstown Mill Arts Project Group Shows, 2006 – 2020, Hyattstown, MD
Century Center Artspace: Alan Gramley Solo Show. 2014. Crystal City, VA
U.S. District Courthouse: Guilty as Charged, 2013. Greenbelt, MD
Hyattstown Mill Arts Project: 3700 Acres: Art of Little Bennett, 2011. Hyattstown, MD
BlackRock Center for the Arts: Hyattstown Mill Arts Project Show, 2005. Germantown, MD
Hyattstown Mill Arts Project: Barns, Farms and Open Spaces; Printmakers Celebrate the Agricultural Reserve, 2005. Hyattstown, MD
BlackRock Center for the Arts Inaugural Gallery Exhibition: Montgomery County Artists Works on Paper Exhibit, October, 2002. Germantown, MD
Montgomery College: Alumni Show, Summer 2001. Rockville, MD
Delaplaine Arts Center: Juried Show, 1999. Frederick, MD
Delaplaine Arts Center: Local Artists, 1998. Frederick, MD
Corcoran Gallery of Art: Washington Printmakers, 1997. Washington, D.C.
Mt. Vernon College: International Artists Support Group – Members Exhibit, 1997. Washington, D.C.
7th Street Gallery: International Artists Support Group, 1996. Washington, D.C.
Washington National Cathedral: I.A.S.G.Earth Day Exhibition, Spring 1995. Washington, D.C.
International Artists Support Group: Visual Images, October 4 -30, 1993. Washington, D.C.
The Windsor School: Darnestown Artists, Spring 1990. Darnestown, MD.
Washington Project of the Arts: Open Studio, November 1989. Washington, D.C.
Susan Conway Carroll Gallery: Quintet, August 16 -September 4, 1988. Washington, D.C. Washington Project of the Arts: Botswana Exhibit, March 1987. Washington, D.C.
Strathmore Hall: Maryland Printmakers, November 1986. Rockville, MD.
Federal Reserve Board: Drawings by Alan W. Gramley, March 23 -May 23, 1983. Washington, D.C.
Elaine Benson Gallery: Elaine de Kooning and Her Inadvertent Collection, Summer 1982. Bridgehampton, NY.
Montgomery College: Alumni Art Show – Drawings. 1978. Rockville, MDPrivate Group Show: Dr. and Mrs. L.E. Gramley Selection – Siena Boesen, Robert Chapman, Charles Fried, Conrad Fried, Tom Ferrara, Alan Gramley: 1978. Potomac, MD
Represented in the Public Collection of:
Franciscan Monastery, Washington, DC
Library of the Federal Reserve Board, Washington, DC
Montgomery College Art Department, MD
Circuit Courthouse of Rockville, MD
Studio open by appointment