Chris McMullen has been working from his Seattle studio since 2000. A fascination with industrial process and a background in Graphic Communication has led to a body of work consisting of machine-like, interactive sculptures.
In 2009 he received a 4Culture Individual Artist Project Grant and an Artist Trust Grants for Artists Projects (GAP) as well as a Juror’s Choice Award for his donation to the Pratt Fine Arts Center’s 27th Annual Fine Art Auction in Seattle, WA. and a Merit Award of Excellence for his donation to PONCHO’s 8th Annual Invitational Fine Art Auction.
As well as creating sculpture, he was invited to teach a class in Creative Mechanical Movement at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, WA in summer of 2009 and has also been a guest speaker for The Seattle Metals Guild.
His work has been permanently installed in Redmond Washington’s City Hall as part of the city’s collection and in the Science Museum of Oklahoma.
Chris' work has been exhibited locally in the Redmond Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, the Bellevue Sculpture Exhibition, Bumbershoot, Fetherston Gallery, Grey Gallery and Lounge and Fulcrum Gallery as well as being featured nationally in California, Nevada and Texas.
His work can be found at chrismcmullenproductions.com.
GRANTS
2011 Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA
2010 4Culture Individual Artist Project Grant, Seattle, WA
2009 Artist Trust 2009 Grants for Artist Projects (GAP), Seattle, WA
2009 Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA
2007 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Indio, CA
2006 Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA
2005 Burning Man LLC., San Francisco, CA
COMMISSIONS
2009 Redmond City Hall, Redmond, WA
2008 Science Museum of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK
2004 Macpherson Construction & Design LLC, Sammamish, WA
JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2010 June-Oct. 10th Biennial Bellwether Artwalk, Bellevue, WA
2010 May Maker Faire, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, CA
2008 March Flash Forward: Coupling VI, Ouch My Eye, Seattle WA
2007 August Redmond Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Redmond, WA
2006 June Bellevue Sculpture Exhibition, Bellevue, WA
March Art Outside, Austin, TX
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008 July Modern Convenience, Grey Gallery and Lounge, Seattle, WA
2002 August Process Physics, Vital 5 Productions, Seattle, WA
February Industry, Forgotten Works Gallery, Seattle, WA
2001 July Industry, Secluded Alley Works, Seattle, WA
INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
2011 September Project, Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle WA
August •Not To Scale, Smoke Farm, Arlington, WA
May Gallery (206), Occidental Park, Seattle, WA
Maker Faire, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, CA
February The Chair Project, Seattle Design Center, Seattle, WA
2010 October Art Outside, Apache Pass, Austin, TX
May Maker Faire, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, CA
February The Official Ouch My Eye 2nd Annual International Invitational, Seattle, WA
2009 September Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA
2009 June The Heavens Reflect Our Labors, Fulcrum Gallery, Tacoma, WA
2008 June Artopia, Georgetown, Seattle, WA
May Maker Faire, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, CA
March Art Outside, Austin, TX
January GO!, Grey Gallery and Lounge, Seattle, WA
2007 June Artopia, Georgetown, WA
April Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Indio CA
2006 August Bumbershoot, Seattle WA
July One Night Stand, Ballard Fetherston Gallery, Seattle, WA
2005 September Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Sea-Tac, WA
2005 September Burning Man Festival, Black Rock Desert, NV
August Dorkbots at the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
July The Henry Bash, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
March Georgetown Invasion, All City Coffee, Seattle, WA
2004 August COCA, Seattle, WA
2003 November Art at Work, Tacoma, WA
August Bumbershoot, Seattle, WA
August Man:Made: Witness the mundane transformed, Colorgraphics, Seattle, WA
August Dorkbots at COCA, Seattle, WA
June Urban Art Installations at The Woolworth Windows, Tacoma, WA
2002 September Consequence, Bemis Building, Seattle, WA
2001 November Art at the Bemis, Bemis Building, Seattle, WA
October Seclusion, Secluded Alley Works, Monroe, WA
September Brewtown Arts, Georgetown, WA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2009 September Merit Award of Excellence, 8th Annual PONCHO Invitational
Fine Art Auction, Grow Art, Seattle, WA
2009 May Juror’s Choice Award, Pratt Fine Arts Center’s 27th Annual
Fine Art Auction, Seattle, WA
2009 June Instructed Creative Mechanical Movement class at Pratt Fine
Arts Center in Seattle, WA in summer of 2009
January Seattle Metals Guild Lecture Series, Guest Speaker, Seattle, WA
2006 May Dorkbots, Guest speaker, Seattle, WA Chapter
2003 August Dorkbots opening reception, Guest speaker, Seattle, WA Chapter
2000-02 Sculpture Studio Coordinator/Monitor, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, WA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Wilkins, Matt. "McMullens Machines," Video for MTV's Seattle Scene: B-Sides Docs About Seattle (2010)
- Miller, Brian. “Touch My Crankshaft,” Seattle Weekly (June 24, 2009)
- Lang, Kirk. “Lecture by Chris McMullen,” Seattle Metals Guild (March/April 2009)
- Farr, Sheila. “Clever kinetic sculptures and witty one liners,” The Seattle Times review (August 1, 2008)
- City of Bellevue Arts Commission. " Bellevue Sculpture Exhibition 2006," Catalogue (June 17, 2006)
- Martin, Nick. " Seattle 's "Machine" a metaphor in motion for Burning Man fest,"The Seattle Times
(August 6, 2005)
- Catalini, Stefano. "The Last Judgement Project," Catalogue (August 2003)
- Muse, Alexandra. "Man:Made: Witness the mundane transformed:Art show at Colorgraphics,"
Catalogue (August 6, 2003)
- Fefer, Mark D. "Process Physics," Seattle Weekly (August 1, 2002)
- Esquivel, Karla. "Chris McMullen's 3-D Physics at Vital 5," Tablet (July 25-August 7, 2002)
EDUCATION
- Associates Degree of Applied Science in Graphic Communication from Truckee Meadows
Community College, Reno, Nevada
- One Year of animation study at The Art Institute of Seattle, Washington
- Continuing study in Sculpture at Pratt Fine Arts Center, Seattle, Washington
