Ron Mueck (1958) is a famous Australian sculptor, known worldwide for his hyper-realistic sculptures. His works can be defined as representations of human anatomies on an altered scale -that is, much larger than the natural size of the human body-, made with synthetic materials and natural hair..
Felicitas Sylvester, in your text Ron Mueck's hyper-realistic work (s.f.), establishes that Mueck entered the artistic world through his talent to elaborate plastic creations that represent human figures in a totally three-dimensional and realistic way, which surprised thousands of spectators around the world.
It can be said that his sculptures are a faithful reproduction of the details of the human body, but that at the same time they imply a game with scales and dimensions. Likewise, his works are characterized by representing life from its first stages to its terminal instance..
Many critics and collectors affirm that this sculptor has become one of the most sought-after artists of the 21st century; This is because his figures are not only striking for their hyper-realism, but also because they portray human psychology.
For this reason, Mueck's figures convey emotions such as vulnerability, loneliness and alienation. All these sensations provoke restlessness and compassion in the spectators.
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Ron Mueck was born in Australia in 1958. He grew up in a family environment made up of toymakers from the city of Melbourne. For this reason, Mueck grew up surrounded by costumes and puppet dolls, which would later motivate him to make his own models..
Later, without receiving any professional training, Mueck began a career in the manufacture of sculptures and dolls for television, film and general advertising. His works for children's programs such as Sesame Street Y Shirl's Neighborhood (the latter for Melbourne television).
In 1984 he joined forces with the creator of the Muppet Show, Jim Henson (1936-1990). For this producer, Mueck made the puppets used in the films Labyrinth (1986) -starring Jennifer Conelly and David Bowie- and Dreamchild (1985). The sculptor even lent his voice to one of the characters in Labyrinth.
Mueck is currently married to Caroline Willing, who is the daughter of painter Paula Rego and artist Victor Willing..
His mother-in-law, Paula Rego, was one of the many artists interested in Mueck's work. In fact, after seeing his son-in-law make the figure of a dragon in the sand for his daughters, he asked him to create a figure of Pinocchio with the aim of using it in his painting. The blue fairy whispers to Pinocchio (nineteen ninety six).
Through this piece, the sculptor had contact with Charles Saatchi, a British collector known for promoting contemporary artists such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst. Saatchi asked Mueck to make some pieces, now known as Angel Y Mask. The promoter was enthusiastic about the result and sent the sculptor to work in Los Angeles..
On the other hand, one of the sculptures that Mueck offered to the collector was Dead father, a creation that shows the figure of a dead man at one-third life-size. The work was exhibited in 1997 in two places: the Royal Academy of Art in London and the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York..
This exhibition promoted the consecration of Ron Mueck in the artistic environment. Five years after these events, the sculptor went to represent his country at the 2001 Venice Biennale, where he achieved overwhelming success with his work. Squatting child, a gigantic sculpture five meters high.
Since then, Mueck has produced numerous sculptures using fiberglass and silicone. In 2002, his works were exhibited alone at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC. On that occasion the sculpture was shown Big man, one of his most famous pieces.
Mueck's most recent exhibitions took place at The National Gallery in London and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. In these exhibitions his work was shown Woman pregnant, a two-meter sculpture that was later acquired by the National Gallery of Australia.
The author Felicias Sylvester defends that Ron Mueck's style corresponds to the hyper-realistic trend that emerged in 1960, however, it is important to add that this sculptor gives him characteristics of the 21st century context, since his notion of reality is mediated by elements such as terrorism, war, energy crisis, world famine and climate change.
It is worth noting that hyperrealism is an artistic manifestation that takes photography as a substitute for the traditional sketch or drawing and that, when projected in sculpture or painting, seeks to reproduce everything that the mechanical eye or lens has seen. In fact, Mueck has stated on several occasions that he prefers to be guided by photographs and not to work with human models..
For this reason, Mueck's hyper-realistic representations are influenced by global society, the multimedia, and the virtual; the sculptor's "real world" is the result of everything that has been projected, photographed, filmed or published.
In addition, the hyper-realistic object represented by Mueck in the artwork has the same sensitive qualities of the "real", but the colors and materials are more pristine and brilliant.
Here are some of Ron Mueck's most popular sculptures:
It is a sculpture that represents the figure of a newborn in a monumental way. This can be stated because the baby's body still has small blood stains distributed throughout the body and wet hair, which makes the viewer understand that Mueck wanted to portray the beginning of life. This body is further characterized by its swollen belly and languid limbs..
This work consists of the sculpture of a woman who remains lying in bed. Her gaze and the position of her fingers show the viewer that the woman is deep in thought, probably preoccupied with multiple speculations. One of the most emblematic details of the sculpture lies in the sharpness of the folds and wrinkles of the sheet.
In this work you can see a young man wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. In addition, the adolescent stands out for the softness of his brown skin and the fullness of his lips. Its main attraction is that the sculpture captured the exact moment in which the young man is lifting his shirt in order to visualize a recent injury.
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