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A German-born, international, multidisciplinary artist and community activist, Lilli Muller resides in Los Angeles, California, where she continues to create compelling artworks that resonate internationally. Her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including the prestigious "Arts Incubator Humanitarian Award" from the City of LA and Art Share LA for her contributions to the arts community as well as the "Los Angeles City Resolution Award" recognizing her contribution to the Arts and Culture of Downtown Los Angeles as a citizen of the Downtown LA Arts District by the City of Los Angeles.
From a young age, Lilli demonstrated a natural talent for art, excelling as one of the top artists in her high school. Influenced by the rich history and artistic traditions of Europe, particularly the Middle Age and Renaissance art, she developed a keen eye for detail and storytelling. Her artistic journey led her on a cross-country adventure throughout the US, ultimately settling in Southern California in 1980.
Lilli's artistic vision took a significant turn in 1980 when she discovered plaster casting, allowing her to transform her 2-dimensional drawings into intricate 3-dimensional sculptures. However, the real turning point in her career came when she met her mentor, Louise Bourgeois, in 1982. Their tea times at Bourgeois' house in Chelsea, NYC, evolved into a lifetime of mentorship, personal conversations, and discussions about Lilli's artistic evolution, lasting until Bourgeois' passing. Inspired by Louise’s mentorship and feedback, Lilli began to explore new creative avenues, leading to the development of her ongoing “Mandala Project Series.”
“My time with Louise inspired me to expand my artistic vision beyond myself to embark on a new creative journey, seeking an infinite sculpture that continuously changes, evolves, and still remains timeless. The metamorphosis of my ongoing “Mandala Project Series” is closing in on that vision. Now it is clear to me that I am doing exactly what I was always meant to do.”
Today, Lilli is renowned for her signature performances, installations, and images created through figurative body-casting in plaster/fiberglass. Her work addresses social issues, humanitarian causes, and political turmoil, aiming to stimulate conversations and promote understanding within the global community. Her large-scale conceptual installations often include multiple elements such as drawing, painting, mixed-media sculpture, photography, performance art, and video, with layered stories and narratives essential to her work.
Lilli's work often involves public participation, creating intimate and thought-provoking experiences that resonate with audiences worldwide. Through her ongoing internationally exhibited works, she continues to follow her personal goal of creating an ever-morphing body of work that changes over time yet maintains constant validity.
“Through my ongoing internationally exhibited works, “The Mandala Project Series,” I am continuing to follow my own personal goal to create an ever-morphing body of work that changes over time and yet maintains constant validity.”
Recent projects include “The Mandala Project Desert: Collateral Damage,” which addressed the plight of migrants who perished in the desert while crossing the border from Mexico to the US. She was invited to exhibit several times in Venice /Italy during the Venice Biennale with “The Mandala Project Venice: The Boat” (2017) and “The Mandala Project: We Are Humanity” (2019), both immersive and participatory large scale installations addressing the global refugee crisis, displacement and war. Her project “The Global Supper” was exhibited during the Venice Biennale 2022, receiving huge resonance from visitors. This project was also showcased in Germany's oldest cathedral in Aachen, for the European KARLSPREIS in 2023, imagining the whole world under one roof, united at one large table, reflecting on our future while “serving humanity.”
Lilli Muller's art transcends boundaries, engaging communities and affecting change, one piece of art and one person at a time. Her work continues to inspire and provoke thought, making her a vital voice in the contemporary art world.
Other pending projects include The Mandala Project: Ground Zero, The Mandala Project Berlin: 14 days Along the Berlin Wall, and The Bridge to Selma. She is planning multiple projects destined for Europe and the Middle East that will impact the audience by engaging them in dialog, and affecting change in communities, one piece of art and one person at a time. These complex, multi-media exhibits will again be various elements including sound, projection, 2D art, and video interaction with performance art.
“Getting people engaged in the artmaking process offers them a different awareness while mirroring their own life experiences. As I have witnessed over the years, it is no longer simply about the artwork itself, but the personal impact it has on each individual, and any further change it may cause. This inspires me to continue making art for the people, with the people, and about the people.”
My inspirations are drawn from the colors of life, human experiences, and the puzzle pieces of emotional states of mind, weaving like a red thread through layering visuals, hidden messages and symbols, assuming obvious perceptions and surprise reveals.
After years of exploring the dynamics of the human condition, illustrating and deconstructing the human body, examining motives and emotions, through the ever-present idiomatic filter of the human body, my art continues to evolve. My casting sessions are mostly done in public settings, exploring my own involvement as a public act of intimacy, acceptance, communion, ritual, and sensuality. It is a continuous attempt to reformulate our human condition, mirroring our current situations and the essence of particular moments in time.
Drawing from my European heritage and upbringing in a historically rich environment, I have come to appreciate traditional art-making methods. I combine these techniques with a contemporary perspective, addressing past and future while focusing on universal issues, translated into the language of today.
Through my internationally exhibited series, "The Mandala Project," I continue to follow my own personal goal of creating a body of work that morphs over time yet maintains relevance. My recent works focus on labor-intensive, multi-media, interactive performance projects that tackle global issues and the state of humanity. Examples include "The Mandala Project Desert: Collateral Damage," highlighting the plight of migrants, In Venice /Italy “The Mandala Project Venice: The Boat” and "We Are Humanity," immersive and participatory installations addressing the global refugee crisis, wars and displacement.
In 2022, I created a large-scale installation at the Madonna Del'Orto convent in Venice "THE GLOBAL SUPPER," inviting viewers to contemplate peace and solidarity. This project was also showcased at Germany's oldest cathedral in Aachen for the European “KARLSPREIS”, imagining the world united at one large table, reflecting on our future while "serving humanity."
Future international projects aim to engage audiences in dialogue and effect change in communities through complex, multi-media exhibits incorporating sound, projection, and video interaction with performance art.
My studio works include drawing, painting, mixed-media sculpture, video performance, and conceptual installations.
