EXHIBITION // RON MUECK // FONDATION CARTIER // PARIS

© Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain - Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck
from 08 june to 05 Nov. 2023

Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain
261 boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris

www.fondationcartier.com

The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain invites Australian artist Ron Mueck to exhibit an ensemble of sculptures previously unseen in France, along with iconic pieces from his career. Visitors will discover his monumental installation Mass (2017), presented for the first-time outside Australia, as well as new work created especially for the occasion which illustrates recent evolution in Mueck's practice.

The artist’s third exhibition at the Fondation Cartier continues a dialogue which first introduced French audiences to his rare and highly anticipated work in 2005.

Exploring a new creative process

In its scale and ambition, the monumental installation Mass is the centrepiece of the exhibition and represents a milestone in the artist’s career. Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) in 2017, Mass comprises one hundred giant human skulls piled high and reconfigured by the artist for each venue. The installation offers a physical and psychological experience that captivates visitors and encourages them to reflect on fundamental aspects of human existence. The title alone provides a glimpse of the work’s diverse interpretations. The multiple meanings of the word “mass”, from disordered heap to formal religious ceremony, are starting points for each viewer’s personal encounter.

The iconography of the skull is itself ambiguous; associated with the brevity of human life in art history, and ubiquitous in popular culture. For Mueck, “The human skull is a complex object. A potent, graphic icon we recognise immediately. At once familiar and exotic, it repels and attracts simultaneously. It is impossible to ignore, demanding our attention at a subconscious level.”

The skulls are displayed as a group, an assembly of individuals imposed upon the visitor. In this way, Mass differs from the artist’s previous works, which systematically depict humans in their individuality. Also exhibited for the first time in France is Dead Weight (2021), a cast-iron skull weighing in at nearly two tons. In contrast with his typically naturalistic works, here traces of casting remain as the artist allows the raw nature of process and material to speak for themselves.

The exhibition will also unveil a spectacular new work created especially for the exhibition, a menacing group of large dogs. Mueck was already harboring the project of this piece during preparations for his 2013 solo show at the Fondation Cartier.