Installation de l’exposition de Ron Mueck à la Fondation Cartier, 07 juin 2023
The works of Ron Mueck, an Australian artist born in Melbourne in 1958, are distinguished by their astonishing realism. His career began as a contributor at a television station, where he learned special effects techniques and animated models, fundamental to his future art. His first significant work, a giant sculpture of his father naked, was exhibited in 1996 in London, marking the beginning of an international artistic journey.
THE WORKS OF RON MUECK
Ron Mueck, Installation de l’exposition de Ron Mueck à la Fondation Cartier, 07 juin 2023
Known for his reserve, Mueck lets his works speak for him.
Each of his sculptures, made from materials such as polyvinyl, plaster and resin, takes a very long time to create as attention to detail is paramount for the artist.
Mueck has exhibited in prestigious venues such as the Venice Biennale and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, earning him recognition as an associate member of the National Gallery in London. His sculptures, whether gigantic or tiny, shatter the perception of reality. His art, whether one likes it or not, amplifies the viewer’s emotions and provokes deep reflection.
The work of Ron Mueck (Melbourne, 1958; lives and works in the UK since 1986) evokes universal themes and has profoundly renewed contemporary figurative sculpture. He takes months, sometimes years, to sculpt his prodigiously realistic figures, always of astonishing dimensions.
Ron Mueck’s works, profoundly mysterious and extremely genuine at the same time, often pervaded by a surreal aura, invite us to reflect on our relationship with the body and, more generally, lead us to confront existence itself.
Here are the works by Ron Mueck you need to know:
IN BED (2005)
The work entitled ‘In Bed’ brings us face to face with some of the main characteristics of Ron Mueck’s work. We are confronted with an extraordinarily realistic figure that evokes the spirit of a real person, with thoughts and emotions, whose presence demands and deserves our attention.
As always in Mueck’s works, the characters are never depicted life-size, but always smaller or larger, in ways that are integral to the viewer’s experience. In this case, the majestic size of the figure, which with the sheets and pillows constitutes a sculpture of imposing dimensions, allows us to get so close that the character seems to perceive us as invisible. We can take our time to observe him and imagine his thoughts, without our presence seeming inconvenient.
In Bed was first exhibited in 2005 at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, and became part of the collection.
Ron Mueck, In bed
MASS (2017)
Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) in 2017, Mass is an installation consisting of one hundred giant sculptures of human skulls that dialogue with the exhibition space.
The title hints at the work’s multiple meanings. The term ‘mass’ can refer to a heap, a pile, a crowd or a religious ceremony. The very iconography of the skull is ambiguous: associated with the brevity of human life in art history (the ancient reference to the Memento Mori), it is also ubiquitous in popular culture.
The different colour tones and details of the facial framework suggest that it is a collection of individuals, and it is their presence as a group that is overwhelming. In this sense, Mass differs from the artist’s previous works, which systematically depicted human beings in their individuality.
Mass, Ron Mueck
WOMAN WITH STICKS (2009)
It is a woman with her back bent under the strain of a job that we cannot quite identify.
The woman’s feet are firmly anchored to the ground and create a dynamic posture, which contrasts with the elegant irregularity of the sticks held with difficulty in her arms.
The softness of her skin is marked by the sharp dry sticks and the expression on her face seems to indicate concentration on her surroundings.
The dimensions, deliberately small compared to the real thing, give the sculpture an eerie strangeness, as if the observer were facing a world that is physically present, but at the same time allegorical.
Woman with Sticks has been part of the Fondation Cartier Collection since 2013.
THIS LITTLE PIGGY (2023)
This Little Piggy is inspired by a passage from John Berger’s novel Pig Earth, which describes a crucial moment in the life of a rural community. The small-sized sculpture depicts a group of men engaged in the slaughtering of an animal. From the first glance, the work highlights the strength of the link between the memory of a pre-industrial society and the violence of contemporary human life, but also invites broader interpretations of our societies and communities.
As in Mass, the driving force is the group dynamic, rather than the individual. Our attention is captured by the orchestration of body forms, as our gaze explores the landscape that shifts as we move through space.
This little piggy, Ron mueck
BABY (2000)
Baby, a small sculpture depicting a newborn child, is inspired by an image from a medical book showing a baby held by the feet moments after giving birth. Despite its size (only 25 cm), this complex figure is remarkably realistic. By inverting the original image and fixing the sculpture to the wall, the artist recreates the form of a cross that invites contemplation as if it were a religious icon, marked by what appears to be, on closer inspection, an almost spiteful expression. The minute scale of the figure focuses our attention, drawing us in and immersing us in the aura that seems to surround it.
Ron Mueck, Baby
EN GARDE (2023)
With this new sculpture, visitors are confronted with a menacing group of dogs almost three metres high. A subject cultivated by the artist for over ten years, the sculpture was finally unveiled to the public on the occasion of the exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in June 2023.
En Garde has a characteristic enigmatic quality; it may be a guard dog intent on protecting something or an unpredictable pack of stray dogs that threaten whoever they are facing. The first intense moment of confrontation goes on in silence as the visitors are forced to negotiate their place in the drama. The title, which literally means ‘on guard’, can refer either to the dogs or to us spectators, who have crossed their path. In either case, an unsettling feeling of uncertainty hangs over the final outcome.
EN GARDE, Ron Mueck
Ron Mueck embodies the quintessence of hyperrealism with a personal touch that goes beyond the mere representation of reality. His works, which lie at the intersection of art and illusion, invite deep introspection. His sculptures, which capture human complexity in an extraordinary way, raise questions about the nature of reality and existence. Through his commitment and meticulous precision, Mueck has not only conquered the art world but has also challenged and enriched the visual and emotional perception of viewers, leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary art scene.