Intentionally Designing Public Art with Nicole Mueller - Ep 28
This week on First Coat we have Nicole Mueller, an artist and painter based in San Francisco. I heard about her work via her podcast, which she runs with fellow artist Amanda Adams, Beyond the Studio. Nicole has been working on a public art project in Tempe, Arizona, which is near where I’m from. I am very excited to share our conversation about her large park project and more!
In this episode, we talk about the process of creating art for public spaces as a full-time artist. Nicole gives us insights on working with different sectors to create intentional public art, maintaining her artistic motivation after the pandemic, and how/if creating public art differs from her studio art. Listen to hear about her experience and her latest creative projects.
This episode was recorded in May, 2023.
LINKS
1625 Eye St Paintings by Nicole Mueller, Photography by Karl Connolly
Superbloom, Acrylic on canvas, 17x14.5ft, by Nicole Mueller, Photography by Karl Connolly
Supernova, Acrylic on canvas, 17x14.5ft, by Nicole Mueller, Photography by Karl Connolly
GUEST | NICOLE MUELLER
WEBSITE - https://www.nicolemariemueller.com
Beyond the Studio: https://beyondthe.studio
INSTAGRAM - @nicolemariemueller
Nicole Mueller is a full-time visual artist based in San Francisco, CA. Her work includes large-scale paintings, murals, and installations that mimic the effects of stained glass. Driven by process, her abstract works are highly saturated, built with layers of collage-like shapes. Her work explores the complexity of color, states of flux, dichotomies within painting, the transitional nature of being, and the threshold between interior and exterior, the tangible and intangible.
Mueller earned her BFA in Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore, MD in 2011. Her work has been exhibited in California, New York, and Maryland. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Pouch Cove Foundation (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada), ArtPoint (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco), the Vermont Studio Center, and Proyecto ‘ace (Buenos Aires, Argentina). She has completed permanent public projects in collaboration with the City of Alameda, California Arts Council and Downtown Alameda Business Association, as well as commercial businesses throughout San Francisco. In 2017 she was the recipient of the Mark M. Glickman and Lanette M. McClure Artist Award for emerging artists in California.
Mueller is also the co-host of Beyond the Studio, a podcast that interviews working contemporary artists about their professional practices. Beyond the Studio’s mission is to bring more transparency to the art world by hosting candid conversations with visual artists about their business practices, financial planning, time management, and the unique challenges of making a living, creatively. The podcast received an Alternative Exposure grant in 2017, from Southern Exposure in San Francisco, with support from Facebook’s Artist-in-Residence Program and the Andy Warhol Foundation. Beyond the Studio is a cultural partner of Art World Conference and a fiscally sponsored Independent Arts & Media project.
Artwork by Stephanie Eche.
Your Host | Stephanie Eche, CEO & Founder of Distill Creative
Stephanie Eche is an artist based in Brooklyn, NYC.
Follow Stephanie on Instagram (@distillcreative or @stephanie_eche), YouTube (Distill Creative), LinkedIn, and check out her art website.
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Post-production for this episode was provided by CCST.