Mary Miss has been redefining how art is integrated into the public realm since the early 1970s. She is interested in how artists can play a more central role in addressing the complex issues of our times—making environmental and social sustainability into tangible experiences is a primary goal. Collaboration has been central to her work as she has developed projects as diverse as creating a temporary memorial around the perimeter of Ground Zero, marking the predicted flood level of Boulder, Colorado, or revealing the history of the Union Square Subway station in New York City. She has worked with historians, hydrologists, and botanist on recent projects.
Miss’ work crosses boundaries between landscape architecture, architecture, and urban design. Her vision favors site-specificity and human perception over traditional concerns of the public monument.
Miss received her BA in 1966 from UC Santa Barbara and her MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture in 1968.
Mary Miss has won numerous awards, including the 2001 New York Masterworks Award for the Framing Union Square project, the Centennial Medal from the American Academy in Rome in 2001, and an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Washington University in 2000. She has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a Resident Artist at the American Academy in Rome and a recipient of several New York State Council on the Arts grants and NEA grants.
Miss’ work has been shown at the Sculpture Center in 2008, Senior & Shopmaker Gallery, NY 2006, the Des Moines Art Center in 1996, the Graduate School of Harvard in 1990, the Architectural Association, London in 1987, the Institute of Contemporary Art, London in 1982, among other locations.