A Moment with Nicole Mueller
From her large-scale collages, installations and murals, Nicole Mueller is a San Francisco-based visual creator on the rise navigating the art world through her inherently recognizable style that amplifies a technicolor energy in any space. Aside from being busy with her own projects, she also spends her time shining light on other artists in the process through Beyond The Studio, an award winning podcast she co-hosts that you can listen to on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Tell us a little about you. Where are you from? How did you get your start?
“I currently live and work in San Francisco, CA but studied painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD where I lived for a number of years before moving out to the West Coast. I always knew I wanted to be some kind of artist, but started out thinking I might become an animator, or illustrator, or something like that. I read and drew incessantly as a kid, and always had a sketchbook in my hand growing up. In high school I discovered painting, and fell in love with the medium. My paintings have evolved from their figurative origins to more abstract environments that explore ambiguity through color and spatial relationships, the fluidity of the in-between, and turn transitional spaces into something that feels both vibrant and immersive.”
How would you describe the kind of works you like to create?
My work is abstract, highly saturated, and built with layers of transparent colors or cut, assembled shapes. It’s all rooted in painting, but currently includes collage, large-scale murals, and light-activated window installations. I’m primarily driven by process, and within these collaged paintings, I’m exploring dichotomies, states of flux, and the notion of thresholds.
As my painting process expands, I’ve been making larger site-specific works that are more immersive or respond to the architecture of a space, and utilize natural lighting to mimic the effects of stained glass with materials such as window film, vinyl, and colored acrylic. As light filters through these suspended, transparent shapes, they cast colored shadows on the floor and walls, or interact with paintings hung on the walls. My aim with these works is to give physical form to the abstract sensation of light, merge the tangible and intangible, and provide pathways for moving through liminal states that remain in constant flux.
Tell us about Beyond The Studio- what inspired you to start your podcasting journey? What are some of your favorite experiences so far creating it, and where do you hope to see this project go.
I never intended to become a podcaster! I started Beyond the Studio out of a curiosity and a need to learn how other artists were making a living and sustaining their work.
The podcast is a collaboration between a friend of mine and fellow artist Amanda Adams. Our mission with Beyond the Studio was, and still is, to help create more transparency in the art world by bringing visibility to the real work of being an artist—everything beyond the creative process. We’ve interviewed dozens of artists about their career paths, and been able to have really open conversations about things like time management, how they’re financially supporting their practice, personal and systemic challenges, and how they’re generating opportunity.
Artists are amazingly resourceful, brilliant people, and it’s been inspiring to have these honest conversations with them through Beyond the Studio. It’s grown into a wonderful community, and it feels like we’ve really tapped into something or are maybe helping to contribute to a larger conversation in the arts around building a world that is more economically supportive of and equitable to artists.
We love your mural work, and it’s such a beautiful way to experiment in a public art format. Is this an outlet you would like to get more involved with?
I love the challenge of working large-scale and responding to an environment. When I first graduated from art school, my first job was actually working as a mural assistant. Through these early years of commercial mural painting, I grew very comfortable working large scale and in public spaces.
Lately, it’s been more interesting for me to think about adapting my studio process, which is very intuitive, to the large-format that mural painting typically offers. I think of them more like large, wall-sized paintings now.
Whether they’re for a commercial purpose or a more community-based public art project, it’s been a great way for me to open up my studio practice which is otherwise very solitary.
As the scale of my work in the studio has increased, it’s definitely an arena I would like for my work to keep expanding into and encourages me to think more about my audience or the impact my work has on the people that experience it.
What’s your typical studio day like?
There’s no such thing as a typical studio day for me right now! Usually my work is very project-based, so depending on whether I’m working towards an exhibition or some sort of commission, I’m either planning for an installation or doing more administrative work at home from my computer, or painting in the studio.
I find this kind of variety motivating, however. Keeping a consistent routine is challenging for me, and I enjoy being able to bounce back and forth between multiple projects or different modes of working, which is why I think my work has grown more multidisciplinary over the years as well.
Describe your style in 3 words.
Vibrant. Exuberant. Complex.
What are some of your goals for 2021? What’s next?
To finally get back into the studio! This year has been so draining, mentally and emotionally. I think the anxiety and fatigue really stunted my creativity, and prevented me from getting into the studio on a regular basis. Usually I’m able to balance my studio practice with other work, life at home, and the podcast pretty effectively, but this year I just didn’t have the energy. I only made about 12 small paintings the entire year. I have some really big projects coming up though, so I’m finally feeling energized again and ready to look ahead towards the future. It feels like we’re slowly coming out of winter, and spring is just on the horizon.
