When it comes to finding appropriate objects for use in his art, Warren Muller says "anything is up for grabs."

"I look at things that are valuable and things that have no value at all," he says. "I treat everything equally. I don't really have an idea what works, but I know it when I see it."

Such serendipity comes through in the end product: Muller creates imaginative illuminated assemblages of seemingly incongruous items. Take for instance, "Pee Wee," which is based on a circular metal framework and includes glass urinals from WWII that Muller found in a junk shop, as well as a classic bust of a male figure. It's a cockeyed assortment, but Muller's eye for placement sees that it comes together as a whole. The artist claims no grand plan when creating a particular work. "Most of what I do is very playful ... it's like improvisation," he explains. "I just start and things kind of build on their own."

For his show at Swarthmore's List Gallery, Muller built an installation that fills an entire room — "Orange Crush" — featuring a large hanging sculpture whose components include a ceramic bull, pieces of traffic lights and a bicycle wheel. It's engulfed by floor-to-ceiling orange and red objects. "It has a warmth and glow that surrounds you," says Muller, who adds, "I felt after I made that piece I could take the color of the light. The light is very potent."

"Light Installations," Warren Muller, opens Thu., March 9 (opening reception Fri., March 17, 5-7 p.m., and gallery talk with artist 4:30 p.m.), through April 9, List Gallery, Lang Performing Arts Center, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, 610-328-7811.