Ron Mueck

Ronald Hans Mueck ( or /ˈmuːɪk/) (born Hans Ronald Mueck; 9 May 1958) is an Australian sculptor working in the United Kingdom.

Biography

Born in 1958 to German parents in Melbourne, Australia, Ron Mueck grew up in the family business of puppetry and doll-making. He worked initially as a creative director in Australian children's television shows like ''Shirl's Neighbourhood'' and '' Lift Off'', before moving to America to work there in film and advertising. Most notably, he designed, performed, and voiced the character of Ludo in the 1986 Jim Henson fantasy film ''Labyrinth''. He later collaborated with Henson again on the TV series '' The StoryTeller''. In 1996, he was asked by Paula Rego, his mother-in-law, to make a small figure of Pinocchio for her group exhibition Spellbound: Art and Film, at the Hayward Gallery, London.

Mueck first came to public attention with his sculpture "Dead Dad". This portrayal of his recently deceased father—at roughly half-scale and made from memory and imagination—was included in the 1997 exhibition ''Sensation'' at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Mueck's first solo show was at the Anthony d’Offay Gallery, London in 1998. His high sculpture ''Boy'' 1999 was a feature in the Millennium Dome, and later exhibited at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001. Today it sits in the foyer of the Danish Contemporary Art Museum ARoS in Aarhus.

Between 2000 and 2002, Mueck was Associate Artist at the National Gallery, London. During this two-year post he created the works ''Mother and Child'', ''Pregnant Woman'', ''Man in a Boat'', and ''Swaddled Baby'' and culminated in an exhibition in 2003.

Mueck's most recent major touring exhibition began at Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain (Paris), in 2013, and travelled to Fundacion Proa, Buenos Aires., MAM, Rio de JaneiroRon Mueck in MAM-Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro
(marking the biggest audience in the history of that museum), and São Paulo, exhibited at the Pinacoteca.Ron Mueck in Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo

During 2016, Mueck exhibited at the Theseus Temple, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and Sara Hildén Art Museum, Tampere, Finland.

In 2016 Mueck also received a major solo presentation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. As part of the Hull UK City of Culture the following year, Mueck's works appeared as part of ''SKIN'', at the Ferens Art Gallery, alongside paintings by Lucian Freud and Édouard Manet, and Spencer Tunick's photographs of his installation ''Sea of Hull''. The exhibition features a new work, ''Poke'', as well as ''Wild Man'', ''Spooning Couple'', ''Youth'', ''Ghost'', and ''Mask II''.

In 2024 15 works were presented in a solo exhibition at Museum Voorlinden. The exhibition features, among others, ''En Garde'' (2023), ''Mass'' (2016-2017), ''Big Baby II'' (1996-97), ''Man in Blankets'' (2000), and ''Couple under an Umbrella'' (2013), which is permanently on display as one of the museum’s highlights.

In 2025, works including ''Mass'' (2016-2017) are presented as a solo exhibition at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art on Seoul, South Korea.

Work

Mueck's sculpture responds to the minute details of the human body, playing with scale to produce engrossing visual images (a style known as hyperrealism). Mueck spends a long time, sometimes more than a year, creating each sculpture. His subject matter is deeply private, and is often concerned with people's unspoken thoughts and feelings.

Gallery

, ''Man in a Boat'' (2002)
File:Ron Mueck Chicken man 2019.jpg, ''Chicken Man'' (2019)

See also

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mueck, Ron
1958 births
Living people
Australian people of German descent
Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom
20th-century Australian sculptors
Australian male voice actors
Australian contemporary artists
Realist artists
Hyperrealist artists
21st-century Australian sculptors