Biography

Throughout his art career William Mueller has developed a passion for transforming public and architectural spaces through his public art installations. Designing site-specific work is an important element in his creative process. His work addresses the context of the site, provides a strong visual identity, and appeals to a diverse community.

A native of the Pacific Northwest Mueller was born and raised in Aberdeen, WA. He attended the University of Oregon, graduating with a BFA in Sculpture and a minor in Landscape Architecture from the university’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts. While attending the UO Mueller came under the tutelage of Jan Zach, Chair of the Sculpture Department and an internationally known Czech/American sculptor. He worked as Zach’s assistant for 9 years on large-scale public art commissions. Through his relationship with Jan Zach he also met and assisted several other well known American sculptors. His work with these artists gave him a strong foundation for the process of fabricating, siting, and installing public art. His education and experience in both sculpture and landscape architecture have been valuable assets when evaluating a potential site or integrating artwork within an existing environment.

After moving to Bellingham, WA in the 1980s Mueller embarked upon a solo art career with works in laminated pine and cast bronze. In 1994 he and his family left the Pacific Northwest for Colorado. Mueller’s work became larger in scale and was markedly influenced by the local colors and penetrating light quality of Colorado’s expansive semi-arid region. He began to develop his work within series, each of which represents a sculptural concept. From 1995-2005 he primarily fabricated work from laminated OSB (Wall Series and Slice Series). He developed a finishing process that produces a colorful, durable, terracotta-like surface. However these surfaces were achieved at a cost. Over time the fine dust produced from the sanding process resulted in a severe dust allergy. In 2004 health concerns pushed Mueller away from working in wood and bronze to fabricating sculptures from steel, aluminum and plexiglass

Since 2005 Mueller has become increasingly interested in expressing movement within a stationary form through the interplay of angles and spatial relationships. The Bow Tie Series (2005-2007) explores the use of parallel, overlapping and radiating forms. In 2007 Mueller started experimenting with folded steel plate. He produced a series of sculptures where one form folds into another form in a continuous sequence (Folded Steel Series). The forms are folded into a variety of planes and angles, each form maintaining its own structural identity as it becomes an integral part of a new structure.

Taking the concepts of energy and movement to a new level Mueller created his first elevated kinetic installation in 2009. “Local Motion” was engineered so that the upper sculptural forms can be easily rotated by turning a wheel located on the steel column. Since that time Mueller has developed similar sculptures that can be engineered as interactive kinetic works or wind-driven installations. For the past 5 years (2017-2022) Mueller has also been developing the “Skater Series”. This series is less architectural in design and is the closest he has come to using the abstract human form to communicate motion.

Although Mueller is primarily a public artist he has an extensive body of work available in a wide range of scales using multiple fabrication materials.