Ron Mueck is an Australian-born artist now living in London known for his hyperrealistic sculptures. The Houston exhibit featured 13 of his sculptures depicting various stages of life from youth to old age. Mueck alters the scale of his figures to draw more attention to them than normal life-size depictions. His art aims to balance surrealism through scale with realistic details of the human form and faces.

1. RON MUECK
CRITIQUED BY: ASHLEY SLOAN

2. ABOUT THE
ARTIST
• Name: Ron Mueck
• Born in Melbourne, Australia in
1958 to German emigrants.
• Mueck found himself going back
and forth between the United
States and London, but ultimately
settled in London, England.

3. RON MUECK
CONTINUED
• Mueck started out in the movie
and television business, but
switched his focus to fine art in
the mid 1990s.
• His exhibit in Houston showcases
the cycle of life and the various
stages of maturity.
• His first major exhibit showcased
in London, England in 1996,
Hayword Gallery ‘Spellbound: Art
and Film’.

4. INTRO TO THE
HOUSTON EXHIBIT
• Ron Mueck’s Houston Exhibit
features 13 sculptures.
• Consist of silicon or fiberglass and
acrylic sculptures cast from clay
models.
• He balances realism of the
subject while at the same time
maintaining a surreal effect with
the scale in which the subjects
are depicted.
• His drawings are from memories
or everyday encounters with
everyday people.
Mask II, 2001-2002

5. COUPLE UNDER AN
UMBRELLA, 2013
• This was the first sculpture to really jump out at me
because the couple looked older and gave a sense of
love surpassing the golden years.
• In this sculpture it shows a couple under an umbrella,
with the man lying on the lap of the woman.
• This sculpture spoke to me also because of the fact
that the woman is focused on the man and no matter if
in the real event it was a large group of people around,
he had her full attention.

6. WOMAN WITH SHOPPING,
2013
• In this sculpture it shows a mother holding what
appears to be grocery, while also balancing her baby
within her coat.
• To me this picture appeals to the maternal side in all of
us not from just being mothers for women, but also for
having a mother as a man.
• It definitely speaks to those who are single mothers or
were raised by one because it shows the everyday
struggle of trying to balance being a mother, while
taking on the weight of the world for your child.
• Being that I was raised by a single mother it really
stood out as a statement of how she was forced to be
super woman in her situation.

7. TWO WOMEN, 2005
• In this sculpture it shows two different women in sort
of a mirror effect but not facing each other, instead
looking to the side.
• This image to me reflects kind of like the way the world
sees you vs the way you see yourself.
• The woman that is closest to us appears to be older by
the fact that she has more wrinkles in her face and also
her hair is beginning to thin.
• It seems also as if the woman closest to us has almost
in a way given up as the way her eyes appear to be
getting darker and she kind of has a sense of being lost
to her as well.

8. MAN IN BLANKET, 2000
• In this sculpture it shows a man in fetal position
wrapped up in blankets.
• This sculpture depicts the way that some of us long for
that feeling of being a child once again or getting in
touch with our child like side.
• His eyes are closed and his hands are folded in front of
his showing a sense of comfort like he is able to
escape the weight of the world and just be even if its
for a minute.

9. YOUNG COUPLE, 2013
• This sculpture shows a young couple embracing one
another, but lacks a sense of intimacy.
• To me the artist is trying to show that the way we think
love is supposed to look isn’t always true.
• The couple seems like they are just in the moment, but
not much love is between them it is more of a front and
an image they are trying to put on.
• It could also be the fact that when you are young and a
couple you don’t know what the future holds so you
worry about the inevitable.

10. MAN IN BOAT, 2002
• In this sculpture it appears to be an older man in a
boat.
• He appears to be looking to the side like he is looking
for something, while at the same time he appears lost
and lonely.
• The boat seems to be old and chipped like if it were to
actually be put in water it might sink.
• I think the artist is trying to depict a sense of not
knowing what is going to happen next, but trusting that
the waves will take you where you need to be.

11. YOUTH, 2009
• This sculpture shows an African American teen with his
shirt up revealing what appears to be a bleeding
wound.
• This speaks to me especially in today’s day and age
with the increase of police brutality amongst African
American males.
• It also shows a sense of black on black crime by the
way he looks at himself as though he is destroying a
part of himself.
• This is a major piece that speaks volumes.

12. STILL LIFE, 2009
• Shows a chicken hanging like in a shop with a cut
across his chest.
• To me the artist is trying to show the balance between
life and death, because the wire is like a sense of your
life hanging in the balance.
• Although it is obvious the chicken in this sculpture is
dead it is almost like watching the life be drained from
him even without movement.

13. UNTITLED (SEATED WOMAN),
1999
• This sculpture shows an older woman sitting on what
appears to be a box covered with a sheet.
• The woman appears to be dealing with a death just
from the way that her body language gives off a sense
of loss.
• She is wearing black and pearls also which shows a
sense of death.
• I believe that she may be a widow again just from the
way her body language is and she appears to be feeling
lonely now, like now a part of her life is gone and she is
just trying to cope.

14. “
”
“I NEVER MADE LIFE-SIZE FIGURES BECAUSE IT
NEVER SEEMED TO BE INTERESTING,” “WE
MEET LIFE-SIZE PEOPLE EVERY DAY.
[ALTERING THE SCALE] MAKES YOU TAKE
NOTICE IN A WAY THAT YOU WOULDN’T DO
WITH SOMETHING THAT’S JUST NORMAL.”
Ron Mueck, 2003

15. CONCLUSION
I really enjoyed going to the exhibit especially being that I am an Andy Warhol fan and to me Ron
Mueck’s art exhibits a Warhol likability. I would like to go again to see the exhibit before it does
close and continue to see other exhibits as well. I have been online looking at more of Ron Mueck
including many of his exhibits on display currently in London. I want to thank my professor for
challenging me to step outside the box with this presentation and open my eyes to the wonderful
world of Ron Mueck.

16. WORK CITED
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
https://www.hauserwirth.com/artists/52/ron-mueck/biography/