My Biography

Learn about my life and legacy as a creative force for over five decades.

LOUIS MUELLER

Abbreviated Résumé

BORN 1943, Paterson, New Jersey

EDUCATION

1969 BFA Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
1971 MFA Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI

AWARDS AND GRANTS

1996 Rhode Island State Council Fellowship in Design
1990 Individual Artist's Fellowship - Design, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
1988 Individual Artist's Fellowship - Design, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts
1985-86 Development Grant, Rhode Island School of Design
1985 Individual Artist's Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts
1983 Mellon Travel Study Grant
1978 Ford Foundation Grant, Boston Museum of Fine Arts

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023Michael Bargo, New York, NY
20051+1=3, Foster/White Gallery. Seattle, WA (with Benjamin Moore)
2003Recent Work, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY
 Recent Work, Wheeler Gallery, Providence, RI
2002A Lesson in Language, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY
 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI
2001Present Tense, Elliott Brown Gallery, Seattle, WA
1998Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI
1997Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY
1996Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, NY
 Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona
1995Gallery Carin Delcourt Van Krimpen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
 Jeanine Cox Fine Art, Miami Beach, FL
1993Gallery Carin Van Krimpen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
 Radix, Phoenix, AZ
1988Kurland Summers Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
 Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI
 Ruth Braunstein, San Francisco, CA
1987The Society of Art in Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
 Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1986Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1985Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1984Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
 Area X Gallery, New York, NY
1982Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
 North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
1975Quay Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1974Dominican College, San Rafael, CA
1973California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024Framing the Village, New York, NY
2024Bracelets, Bangles & Cuffs, Metal Museum, Memphis, TN
2023Farago XYZ, New York, NY and Marfa, TX
2022Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA “Exquisite Corpse Project” July (Curated by Lisa Macleod Bowman, with catalog)
2022Rings, Metal Museum, Memphis, TN (Curated by Helen Drutt)
2022Farago, XYZ, Los Angeles, Paris and Marfa, TX (Pop-up)
2011SOFA Chicago and Santa Fe, exhibiting with Elliott Arts West of Santa Fe, NM, and The Artfair Company
 SOFA New York, exhibiting with Schantz Galleries, Stockbridge, MA
2010Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO (with Peter Millett)
 Invitational, Indiana University Kokomo, Kokomo, Indiana
2008King Street Concentric, Butters Gallery, Portland, OR (catalog)
 Gallery Loupe, Montclair, New Jersey
 SOFA Chicago exposition, exhibiting with Elliott Brown Gallery of Seattle, WA
2007Green Matters, SOFA Chicago exposition, exhibiting with Elliott Brown Gallery of Seattle, WA
 Jewelry by Artists: The Daphne Farago Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
 Gallerie Marzee, Nijmegen, Netherlands
 Gallery Loupe, Montclair, New Jersey
2004Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI
 Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002Palm Springs International Art Fair, Palm Springs, CA with Elliott Brown Gallery of Seattle, WA
2001-08SOFA Chicago exposition, exhibiting with Elliott Brown Gallery of Seattle, WA
1999Franklin Parrasch, New York, NY
 Margolis Gallery, Houston, TX
1997Jewels - Form, Function or Metaphor, University of Texas at El Paso
 Paint Creek Center for the Arts, Rochester, Michigan
 Joanne Rapp Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona
 Structures -Buildings in American Art 1900-1997, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1996New Time-New Thinking, International Crafts Council, London, UK
 Contemporary Lights, Margolis Gallery, Houston, TX
1994Helander Gallery, New York, NY
1993Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA (with Benjamin Moore)
 The Pet Show, Helander Gallery, New York, NY
 Radix Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
1992Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
 Radix Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
1991Outdoor Sculpture Festival, Snug Harbor Cultural Art Center, New York, NY
 Marcia Raffelman Gallery, Toronto, Canada
1990Henri Gallery, Washington, D.C. Jones & Hobbs Gallery, Provincetown, MA
 Gallery Marzee, Holland
 Museum of Art, Aspen, CO
 Small Sculpture, Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO
 Joanne Rapp Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
 Six, Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI
 Sculpture, Ann Reed Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
1989Small Sculpture, Robinson Gallery, Denver, CO
 Art & Industrie, New York, NY
1988Helen Drutt Gallery, New York, NY
 Society for Art in Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA
 Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
 Marcia Raffelman Gallery, Toronto, Canada
 Michael Malony Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1987Dilaurenti Gallery, New York, NY
 Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
1986American Craft Museum, New York, NY
 Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
 Contemporary Crafts: Conception in Flux, The National Craft Showroom, New York, NY
 Craft Today: The Poetry of the Physical, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
 Rena Branstein Gallery, San Francisco, CA
 Contemporary Arts: An Expanding View (Part 1), Wellesley College Museum, Wellesley, MA
 Monmouth Museum of Art, Lincroft, NJ
 Contemporary Arts: An Expanding View (Part 2), The Squib Gallery, Princeton, NJ
 Foundation for the Arts: Recipients Exhibition, Carlyn Gallery, New York, NY
 Modern Jewelry, 1964-1986: The Helen Williams Drutt Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1985Urban Light, New York Center for Design, New York, NY
 Illumination: The Quality of Light, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
 The Creative Spirit: A Celebration of Contemporary American Crafts, Randolph-Macon Women's College, Lynchburgh, VA
 Adornments, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, NY
 Funktional, Rosa Esman Gallery, New York, NY
1984Design in the Service of Tea, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York, NY
 Multiplicity in Clay, Fiber and Metal, Skidmore Craft Invitational, Saratoga Springs, NY
 Museum of Decorative Arts, Montreal Canada, General Foods, Rye, NY
 Fabric Workshop, New York, NY
 Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
1983Helander Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
1982Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
1977University of Washington, Seattle, WA
 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
 San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA
1976DeYoung Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA
 San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA
1975First Artist Soapbox Derby, traveling to San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA; Finch College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA; Art Museum, Cranbrook Academy, Bloomfield Hills, MI; American Craft Museum, New York, NY
1973Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
1971American Craft Museum, New York, NY
1969American Craft Museum, New York, NY

SELECTED PUBLIC COMMISSIONS

2008Kirkland Library, Kirkland, WA, collaboration with Benjamin Moore
2002WD-50, New York, NY (restaurant)
1992Lighting for The Port of Seattle, collaboration with Benjamin Moore
1988Phoenix Arts Commission, One Percent for the Arts, Fence and Gate Panels for three parks
1986Philadelphia Maritime Museum, Mermaid Loving Cup
 Hyatt Hotel, Scottsdale, AZ
1985Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, Sculpture for Braceland Brothers, Inc.
 The Locust Club of Philadelphia, Bronze Sculpture
 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bronze Metal for Philadelphia Craft Show Award

SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Fidelity Investments, Providence, RI
First Capital Corporation, New York, NY
General Foods Corporation, Ryebrook, NY
Hyatt Hotel, Scottsdale, Arizona
Locust Club of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Carl Miller Associates, New York
Museum of Arts and Design (formerly American Craft Museum), New York, NY
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
The Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Philadelphia Maritime Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

1977–2003Rhode Island School of Design, Head of Jewelry and Metalsmithing Department
2000Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington (Visiting Artist)
1998Massachusetts College of Art (Visiting Artist)
1997Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, First Annual Daphne Farago Lecture Panelist, New England Foundation for the Arts
1995Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam the Netherlands (Visiting Artist)
 Academy of Art, Prague, The Czech Republic (Visiting Artist)
1992–1994Academy of Art, Munich, Germany (Guest Professor)
1992Fachhochschule, Pforzeim, Germany (Visiting Artist)
 Royal College of Art, London, England (Visiting Artist)
 Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Symposium with Otto Kunzli (Visiting Artist)
1991Simon Bolivar University, Department of Architecture, Caracas, Venezuela (Visiting Artist)
1987Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA (Visiting Artist)
 New York State University at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY (Visiting Artist)
1986Pilchuck School, Stanwood, WA (Visiting Artist)
1984Parsons School of Design, New York City, NY (Visiting Artist)
 University of Montana at Bozeman, Bozeman, MN (Visiting Artist)
1983Academy of Art, Munich, Germany (Visiting Artist)
1982Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA (Visiting Artist)
1978–80Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA
1978–79School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
1977University of California at La Jolla, La Jolla, CA (Visiting Artist)
1976–77Dominican College, San Rafael, CA
1976St. Mary's College, Moraga, CA
1974Maryland Art Institute, Baltimore, MD (Visiting Artist)
 Pilchuck School, Stanwood, WA (Visiting Artist)
1974, 76School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (Visiting Artist)
1973, 76Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, PA (Visiting Artist)
1973Pilchuck School, Stanwood, WA (Visiting Artist)
1972, 74Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (Visiting Artist)
1971–75California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA
1971, 83College of Ceramics, Alfred, NY (Visiting Artist)
1975, 76Pilchuck School, Stanwood, WA (Visiting Artist)
1971University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA (Visiting Artist)

PUBLICATIONS

2011New Glass Review 32, The Corning Museum of Glass, p. 35
2004Traditional Homes, September issue; New Glass Review 25, Corning Museum of Glass, p. 32Wine Spectator, Jan.-Feb.Wine and Spirits, Jan.-Feb.
2003Johnson, Ken, New York Times, art review, March 8Van Siclen, Bill, Providence Journal Bulletin, art review, April 10Time Out New York, April 10–17
2002Baran-Mickle, William, "Louis Mueller: Present Tense," Metalsmith Winter 2002 pp. 53–54MacMillian, Kyle, "Solace in Art," The Denver Post
2000Chandler, Mary Voelz, Rocky Mountain News, Art review, September 13
1999Sculpture Magazine, July/August, Focus, Matthew Kangas, pp. 14–15New York Times, Art Review, March 26, 1999, Grace Glueck
1995The New Yorker, October; American Craft, December
1993Kunstforum International, July; Het Parool, The Netherlands, November
1991Arts Magazine, “New York Reviews,” November
1990Metalsmith, Winter; Elle Decor, May
1989Art Aurea, March
1988Artspace, Spring
1987Pittsburgh Press, February; The New Furniture by Peter Dormer, Thames & Hudson
1986Metalsmith, October
1985City Magazine International, January; Crafts Magazine, England, August; Metropolis, October
1984Art News, "New York Reviews," September; Industrial Design Magazine, June