Ken Mabrey grew up in Delaware and graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1972. He received his bachelor of fine arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1979 and his master of fine arts degree from Yale University in 1981. Mabrey's documentations of urban and domestic scenes continue the tradition of early 20th century American realist painting represented in the work of artists such as Edward Hopper and Reginald Marsh. Mabrey's contemporary painting is known for its vibrant, active composition and palette, while the moody, vacant street scenes are typically on the artist's work immediately following the completion of his graduate degree. Mabrey began exhibiting in the early 1980s and garnering grants and awards soon after. He participated in the Yale Norfolk Art Division program in 1978 and was the recipient of a fellowship from the Delaware State Arts Council in 1990. Mabrey's work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions through the Mid-Atlantic, and his paintings and prints are in the public collection of the Delaware Art Museum and the corporate holdings of the News Journal and Wilmington Trust.
