Exhibition dates: 22nd January – 18th April 2010
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Dead Dad (installation view)
1996-1997
Silicone, polyurethane, styrene, synthetic hair
Ed. 1/1
20.0 x 38.0 x 102.0cm
Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago
© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London
Photo: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
You saw it first on Art Blart.
Many thankx to Sue, Erin, Alison and all the crew at the National Gallery of Victoria for inviting me to the media opening (and for doing such a splendid job!) and to David Hurlston, Curator of Australian Art at the NGV, for allowing me to interview him.
The photographs of the exhibition proceed in chronological order. There are a couple of lovely photographs using long exposure (especially the very last photograph one of my favourites). Enjoy!
Dr Marcus Bunyan
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Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria. Please click on the photograph for a larger version of the image.
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Dead Dad (installation views)
1996-1997
Silicone, polyurethane, styrene, synthetic hair
Ed. 1/1
20.0 x 38.0 x 102.0cm
Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago
© Ron Mueck courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
A girl (installation views)
2006
Polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, synthetic hair, synthetic polymer paint
Second edition, artist’s proof
110.0 x 501.0 x 134.5cm
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh Purchased with assistance from The Art Fund, 2007
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Wild Man (installation views)
2005
Polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, aluminium, wood and synthetic hair
2850 x 1619 x 1080 mm
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh Purchased with assistance from The Art Fund, 2008
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Mueck initially planned to make a figure who appeared confined, as if backed into a corner, but decided to make Wild Man after seeing an illustration of the colossal stone sculpture Appennino 1579-1580 (Villa di Pratolino, Vaglia, Italy) by the late Renaissance artist Giambologna. Appennino depicts a crouching hirsute river god, which inspired the oversized hairy ‘wild man’ of Mueck’s sculpture. The critic Anne Cranny-Francis notes that a wild man tends to be a reclusive individual afraid of human society and that this ‘might explain why [Mueck’s] large male figure – in one sense, the very image of the powerful white male – grips his chair, body rigid with tension, and stares over the heads of viewers in a paroxysm of fear’ (Cranny-Francis 2013, p. 6). The man’s nakedness adds to this sense of vulnerability, making him both physically and emotionally exposed.
Extract from Susan McAteer. “Ron Mueck: Wild Man,” on the Tate website February 2015 [Online] Cited 23/05/2019
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Two Women (installation views)
2005
Polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, polyurethane, aluminium wire, steel, wool, cotton, nylon, synthetic hair, plastic, metal
Ed. 1/1
82.6 x 48.7 x 41.5cm (variable)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2007
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Ron Mueck’s Two women is an uncanny sculptural representation of two elderly female figures. The disarming realism of the work invites close scrutiny from which the viewer discovers Mueck’s virtuoso skill in rendering human features, costume details and the idiosyncratic attributes that form personality. Huddled close together, as if gently bracing themselves from the cold, the women peer outward with expressions that suggest both suspicion and vulnerability.
A strong component of fantasy exists in Mueck’s work as he deliberately subverts conventional paradigms of scale. Much like the characters of Gulliver’s Travels, Mueck’s figures are monumentally increased or dramatically reduced in size. Mueck has explained, ‘I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting. We meet life-size people every day’ (S. Tanguy, ‘The progress of Big man: A conversation with Ron Mueck’, Sculpture, vol. 22, no. 6, 2003). The effect, as in the case of Two women, intensifies the physical and emotional aura of his figures. The minute stature of the women creates a tension between artifice and reality that elicits a viscerally empathetic response from the viewer. His creations appear seemingly trapped in introverted emotional states as their physical poses, gestures and facial expressions reflect the inner world of private feelings and thoughts. Mueck’s figurative sculptures often explore the timeless themes of birth, ageing and death.
The craftsmanship with which Mueck constructs his sculptures adds significant impact to our viewing experience. This is very much apparent in Two women where each strand of hair is individually inserted into the characters’ heads; the clothes are specifically tailored to fit their anatomically proportioned, yet miniature bodies. Mueck has carefully fabricated the eyes of the women creating a transparent lens over a coloured iris and deep black pupil to astounding effect.
Extract from Alex Baker. “Ron Mueck’s Two women,” in Art Bulletin of Victoria 48, 29 January 2014 [Online] Cited 25/05/2019
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Woman with Sticks (installation views)
2008
Mixed media
170 x 183 x 120cm
Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain, Paris
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
In January 2010, the National Gallery of Victoria will present a major exhibition of the work of internationally renowned sculptor Ron Mueck.
Known for his extraordinarily life-like creations, this exhibition will feature twelve sculptures by Mueck including four new works.
This will be the largest and most comprehensive Mueck exhibition ever to be held in Australia.
Frances Lindsay, NGV Deputy Director, said: “Since his dramatic entry onto the international art stage, Mueck has continued to astound audiences with his realistic, figurative sculptures and now occupies a unique and important place in the field of international contemporary art.”
David Hurlston, Curator Australian Art, said Ron Mueck’s poignant sculptures illustrate timeless human conditions from birth to demise.
“Mueck’s sculptures range from puckish portrayals of childhood innocence to acute observations of stages of life; from birth to adolescence, middle and old age, and even death. Many are solitary figures, psychological portraits of emotional intensity and of isolation,” said Mr Hurlston.
The exhibition will draw from Australian and international collections, highlights include: Mask II 2001/02, Man in a boat (2002), Old woman in bed (2000/02), Wild man (2005), Two women (2005), In bed (2005), and through the generosity of a private collector from the United States, the iconic work Dead Dad (1996/97).
In addition to these there will be a number of new works created specifically for this exhibition which will be unveiled for the first time in Melbourne.
In his early career Melbourne-born Mueck worked as a puppet maker, however since 1997 he has been entirely devoted to making sculpture. In 1996, he was ‘discovered’ by British advertising guru Charles Saatchi, who included Mueck’s Dead Dad as part of the history making Sensation exhibition the following year.
Mueck went on to represent Australia at the 2001 Venice Biennale, capturing worldwide attention for his 4.5 metre sculpture, Crouching Boy. Since then, he has become one of the most significant figures in the contemporary art world.
Ron Mueck will be on display at NGV International on St Kilda Road from 22 January until 18 April 2010.
Press release from the National Gallery of Victoria website [Online] Cited 20/01/2010 no longer available online
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Man in a boat (installation view details)
2002
Mixed media
159 x 138 x 425.5cm
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Ron Mueck (Australian b. 1958)
Youth (installation view)
2009
Mixed media
65 x 28 x 16cm
Private collection
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Installation photographs of Ron Mueck’s Youth (2009) with Still life (2009) in the background
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Still life (installation views)
2009
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Old Woman in bed (installation views)
2002
Polyester resin, fibreglass, silicone, polyurethane, synthetic hair, cotton, polyester, second edition, artist’s proof
25.4 x 94.0 x 53.9cm
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, purchased 2003
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Ron Mueck (Australian, b. 1958)
Drift (installation views)
2009
Mixed media
118 x 96 x 21cm
Private collection
© Ron Mueck
Photos: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Installation photograph of the Ron Mueck exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria showing at left Woman with Sticks (2005) and at right Two Woman (2005) with A girl (2006) in the distance
Photo: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
Installation photograph of the Ron Mueck exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria showing A girl (2006)
Photo: © Marcus Bunyan and the National Gallery of Victoria
My favourite pic of the day!
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