Billy Joe Miller is an interdisciplinary artist who creates sculptures, installations,
and public art in response to the natural world. The themes of transformation
and sanctuary are integral to his work. His experiences working in hospice,
healthcare-related sites, as well as his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2010,
have inspired his desire to create sanctuary spaces and accessible public art for
parks, community centers and hospitals.
Originally from San Diego, California, Miller now lives in the East Mountains of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to his studio practice, Miller creates
collaborative community-based projects and produces public art. His work has
been supported by New Mexico Arts, Public Art Urban Enhancement ABQ,
the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Meow Wolf, Bridge Projects,
The Speranza Foundation, City of Palm Desert, City of Fraser, City of Brian Head,
Artists at Work: Borderlands and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Resume (PDF)
MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST
Statement of Work
Artist Statement:
As an interdisciplinary and community-engaged artist with a site-responsive practice, I am interested in how the built environment influences our perceptions of and experiences with nature. I ask: what and where is sanctuary? I have built sculptures and contemplative spaces with found objects, organic material, metal, glass, sound, light and shadow. My sculptures become a container for light and color, a way to hold it. I like working on an architectural scale, creating spaces where light, color and form can be experienced as an immersive, somatic phenomenon. I strive to bring the outside in and the inside out. My interest in public art and sculpture grew in response to my experiences in healthcare related sites: as a hospice nurse assistant accompanying people through end-of-life care for many years, as a patient diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and as a support for family. In the long hours and visits to many healthcare spaces, I contemplate and imagine the transformative potential of creative sanctuary in communal space. I am motivated to create accessible art and infrastructure for community centers, transportation sites, parks and healthcare related sites.
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