SEOUL.- The exhibition at National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art provides a unique opportunity to present Ron Mueck’s (b. 1958) work to the Korean audience and to allow his sculptures to respond to the atmosphere of a city steeped in ancient and modern culture, tradition and creativity.
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This exhibition offers an overview of 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 also features a series of studio photographs and two films by Gautier Deblonde who has documented Mueck’s studio practice for over 25 years.
“Although I spend a lot of time on the surface, it’s the life inside I want to capture.” —Ron Mueck
Ron Mueck, born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1958 and based in the United Kingdom since 1986, 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.
This extensive exhibition spreads across two in Galleries of the MMCA Seoul (Gallery 5 and 6).
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. chicken / man (2019) presents an unlikely confrontation, a situation to which everyone must bring their own interpretation. 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. Even In Bed (2005) seems contained in its own private space, looking into the distance and always slightly avoiding the gaze of the intruding visitor.
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.
Conceived together with the artist, this exhibition also continues the dialogue between Ron Mueck and the Fondation Cartier which has been uninterrupted for over twenty years. The Fondation Cartier held its first solo exhibition by the artist in 2005 and subsequently presented more comprehensive surveys in 2013 and 2023, each exhibition allowing the opportunity to showcase new bodies of work. The relationship nurtured over these years resulted in important acquisitions for the Fondation Cartier Collection, including In Bed (2005) and Woman with Sticks (2009).
Mueck’s work goes beyond merely replicating human forms that appear more lifelike than actual people, compelling viewers to turn inward and confront a self-portrait of the times. Each piece takes months, sometimes even years, to complete, prompting reflection on the true meaning and value of art in a modern society driven by speed and instant gratification. In this sense, his work can be seen as a form of resistance to the times. Through fundamental questions about human existence, Mueck’s work guides the audience into a space of introspection, making us recognize both the sensation and significance of our presence in the real world.
Following the appreciation of Mueck’s work, which explores the fundamental meaning of human existence, life, and death, visitors will have the opportunity to engage in various educational programs designed to encourage artistic contemplation and reflection on the meaning of life. The exhibition will offer a range of experiences, including workshops centered around key themes in the artist’s oeuvre as well as digital content and a picture book space.
Kim Sunghee, Director of the MMCA, notes, “It is highly meaningful that the MMCA is presenting a comprehensive showcase of Ron Mueck’s oeuvre, with its consistent exploration of human body sculptures from the 1990s to the present. I hope this exhibition provides an opportunity to reflect on and experience the meaning of human life and death through the works of this master of contemporary sculpture.”
Chris Dercon, Managing Director of the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, shared “For more than twenty years, Ron Mueck has developed a strong and lasting relationship with the Fondation Cartier. This collaboration has given rise to several major exhibitions that have marked key moments in his career: his first solo show in Paris in 2005, followed by two others in 2013 and 2023. Pushing the boundaries of scale and capturing a wide range of emotions and experiences with astonishing details, his sculptures challenge our perceptions of reality and invite us to reflect on the complexities of human existence. Over the years, this partnership has fostered a deep artistic dialogue which comes to fruition again with this exhibition.”
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