Press release
Ron Mueck
From June 8 to November 5, 2023, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain invites Australian sculptor Ron Mueck to exhibit an ensemble of works previously unseen in France. This event is an occasion for the Fondation Cartier to continue the dialogue with this exceptional artist revealed to the French audience in 2005, whose meticulous sculptures are painstakingly created. The exhibition will notably unveil Mass (2017), a monumental installation comprising one hundred giant skulls. Created for the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), this artwork is shown for the first time outside of Australia.
Born in Melbourne in 1958, Ron Mueck lives and works in the United Kingdom. He is well-known for his human figures whose striking realism is contradicted by their sense of scale. Following a career making mannequins and puppets for film and television, his artistic career began in 1996 with a sculpture of Pinocchio commissioned by artist Paula Rego. A year later, his work Dead Dad (1996-1997) was one of the stars of the exhibition Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection (at the Royal Academy of Arts in London). In 2001, his sculpture Boy (1999) was featured in the 49th Venice Biennale.
Solo exhibitions have been seen in museums worldwide, in North America, Europe, South America and the Far East. His work is also featured in public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia), the Tate Gallery (Royaume-Uni) or the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, USA).
The Fondation Cartier hosted two Ron Mueck landmark solo exhibitions in 2005 and 2013, that coincided with the publication of the catalogue raisonné, which will be republished and updated in 2023. Three of the artist's emblematic works are part of the Fondation Cartier's Collection.