PRESENTATION: Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck has pushed boundaries of the sculptural medium with his innovative use of materials, techniques,  and methods  of  expression,  exploring  the  possibilities  of  modern figurative sculpture. His astonishingly sophisticated and lifelike works stem from close observations of humanity  and  philosophical  reflection.  Mueck’s  work  captures  the  inner  emotions  and existential experiences of modern life, such as loneliness, vulnerability, and anxiety.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: MMCA Archive

The solo exhibition at MMCA offers an overview of Ron Mueck’s major works, showcasing an artist who has continuously surprised audiences for over three decades. Viewers can explore the evolution of Mueck’s work through this selection of   sculptures from throughout his career, the exhibition will also feature a series of studio photographs and two films by Gautier Deblonde who has documented Mueck’s studio practice for over 25 years. The exhibition centers around the monumental installation “Mass” (2017), from the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, which was presented for the first time outside Australia at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, in 2023. “Mass”, comprises one hundred giant human skulls arranged in a different reconfiguration for each venue. The skulls piled high in MMCA’s tall exhibition space, urge viewers to look up, feeling they have entered a once deliberately arranged chamber whose purpose and history is unexplained. The artist created a special installation that takes into account the historical significance of MMCA Seoul’s location and the museum’s architectural features, anticipating that it will offer museum visitors a new and wondrous experience. “Mass” is presented alongside Mueck’s solitary and coupled figures which stand like icons amongst the enquiring audience. Whether moments drawn from everyday life, myth, or memories surfaced in his consciousness, the sculptor imbues them with a timeless poignance which  speaks to  everyone.  “Young  Couple” (2013)  introduces  what  appears  to  be  a harmonious relationship, yet on further scrutiny reveals a more ambiguous dynamic. “Woman with Sticks” (2009), embodying a timeless and ancestral idea of femininity, seems to appear as a daydream. More recent works on display show Mueck exploring new ground, drawing on aspects of his earlier sculptures to find new ways to engage with viewer. “Dark Place” (2018), a looming man’s head frowning out of a darkened space, seems to focus on conveying the intensity of the subject’s thought rather than his physical detail.  “Perhaps more than any other of Ron Mueck’s sculptures, “chicken / man”  (2019) presents a scene which seems it must have a backstory, and yet none is offered. Every part is minutely described, from the furniture to the man’s physique, stance and intent stare, to the bird’s alert eye and poise (you know that just one flinch and it will evade his grasp). And yet the empty space between them is filled with question marks. It is an equally matched confrontation and we can observe from the point of view of either protagonist, or from the side as a referee. Who will blink, or pounce, first?  It is a moment of coiled tension, a snapshot in time. We dare not turn away, even for a second, for fear of looking back to find an upturned chair, the man collapsed empty-handed, and the bird gone leaving a scattering of feathers.  Or perhaps the chicken is just the apparition of an old man’s paranoia? These are questions without answers which we can muse on for as long as we like; the situation will never be resolved. The exquisite sculpting of “chicken / man”, which gives us a myriad of details to enjoy, contrives to make this extraordinary scene believable, overriding any sense of the improbable so we might be drawn into its world and speculate on the reason for this unlikely psychological duel. These works urge the viewer to look back at earlier sculptures and see them in a new light. “Man in a Boat” (2002) becomes as a room installation, the whole extent of the space being integral to its mysterious narrative.  “Man in a Boat” portrays a particularly mysterious scene. A man whose folded arms barely cover his naked body sits in the prow of a long boat with a questioning or scrutinizing gaze. As is often the case in Ron Mueck’s work, this figure seems “to withdraw or drift off into inner states we can’t quite access,” in the words of art critic Justin Paton. A sense of solitude surrounds this intimate and timeless sculpture. First presented at Fondation Cartier in 2013, “Man in a Boat” is one of the artist’s most emblematic works. “In Bed”  (2005) brings us immediately face to face with key features of Ron Mueck’s work. We are confronted by a strikingly life-like figure, convincing not just in the careful sculpting of form and detail but in its ability to conjure the spirit of a real person; someone with real thoughts and emotions whose presence demands and deserves our attention. With Mueck’s work, the depiction is never life size, rather always significantly smaller or larger in a way which is integral to the viewer’s experience: the choice of subject matter and the choice of scale are not separate considerations. Here the large scale of the figure, which with the bedclothes and pillows included makes for a huge sculpture, allows us to come so close that she looks straight past us as if we were invisible. We can take our time to observe and imagine her thoughts without feeling our own presence is an imposition. The encounter with all these sculptures reveals a fundamental aspect of all Mueck’s work: throughout his career he has been celebrated for exploring the psychological implications of scale. Whether miniaturized or enlarged, this use of scale intensifies the engagement and heightens awareness of the relative spaces that bodies occupy. The over-sized figure of “Ghost”( 1998 / 2014) or “Mask II”( 2002), a self-portrait nearly four times larger than actual size, allows the viewer to feel more acutely the awkwardness of a teenaged girl in her changing body, whilst the focused smallness of “Woman with Shopping” (2013) emphasizes a weary fragility and permits the viewer close enough to scrutinize her burden and the vulnerability and dependance of the baby she carries. The exhibition features two films and a suite of previously unseen photographs by French photographer and filmmaker Gautier Deblonde, who gives us a rare glimpse into Ron Mueck’s studio and work environment. “Still Life” was filmed in the run up to Ron Mueck’s 2013 exhibition at the Fondation Cartier and “Chicken / Man”, documenting the creation of that sculpture, is seen here for the first time. Having documented Mueck’s practice for over twenty- five years, Deblonde’s work is a rare and intimate record of an artist who otherwise prefers to remain in the background, allowing his sculptures to speak for themselves.

Photo: Ron Mueck’s workshop, London, 2005 – 2013, color photograph on Di-Bond panel, 79.5 × 100 cm. © Gautier Deblonde

Info: Curators: Hong Leeji, Chiara Agradi and Charlie Clarke, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), MMCA Seoul, 30 Samcheong-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea, Duration: 11/4-13/7/2025, Days & Hours: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri & Sun 10:00-18:00, Wed, Sat 11:00-21:00, www.mmca.go.kr/