INFORMATION
Currently living and working in Brooklyn, NY.
Born and raised in the Hudson Valley, Mikael (Miki) Flores-Amper grew up surrounded by nature and a vibrant arts community. He attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD and recieved a BFA in Interdisciplinary Sculpture. In both his personal art practice and in his professional role as a designer & project manager at an art studio, Miki enjoys creating art objects, transforming public spaces with art installations, and crafting functional furniture.
Recently my art has ended up falling into three different categories. 1) I really enjoy making small hand held sculptures that are tactile and multi-faceted, art objects that are intended to be grabbed off a shelf or counter and played with. 2) Frequently I'm making furniture and household items for my own apartment or for friends. I recently wanted a new place to sit at my apartment and somewhere for friends to crash when they come over to visit, so I built a large couch from scratch, doing all the framing, foam work, and upholstery myself. 3) For my large installations I'll transform public or accessible spaces by building a new topography that visitors are able to climb/walk on top of, sit down and lounge, or engage in programming that I curate to activate the spaces. I'll often create events around these installations and invite local groups and individuals to participate, in the past I've organized a lot of poetry readings, panel discussions, and live music, theater, and dance performances.
Most of my work involves woodworking of some sort and most projects are planned out using 3D CAD design programs. I'll incorporate digital fabrication processes into my art practice, using laser cutters, CNC routers, and 3D printers, although I'm often using standard shop and hand tools as well. There's also an important aspect of social design where I'm driven to create work that people can immerse themselves in and physically engage, both individually and as part of a larger group.
I currently work as a lead designer and project manager for the artist Jen Lewin in Brooklyn, NY. Jen is an internationally recognized artist and engineer, her public sculptures merge art and technology to encourage community interaction and play. This past year we debuted two large projects that I led, Ursa Minor: a 12 ft. tall illuminated bear sculpture whose entire surface is lined with infinity mirrors, and The Last Ocean: a series of hundreds of interactive light platforms made from recycled ocean plastic. These form an otherworldly ice field of geometric tessellations that mimic Antarctica’s glaciers.
I work with our small team to design and build both permanent public sculptures and traveling exhibitions in the United States and abroad. My role is partially geared towards the industrial design, fabrication, and installation of Jen's new projects, as well as the installation and maintenance of existing work.
EMAIL INSTAGRAM RESUME MOON BASE