Every once in awhile you run across a piece of art that you just can’t take your eyes off of. It was that way when I saw a picture of a sculpture by Australian born hyperrealist sculpt0r Ron Mueck. The piece I was looking was his “Spooning Couple” from 2005.
The couple looked so incredibly real down to every piece of hair, every fingernail. The facial expressions drew me in. I immediately was intrigued with what might have been going on between them. They both looked so distant, in such an intimate position, yet far away from each other lost in their own thoughts. There is something tragic in the piece. I had to see more and learn more about this artist.
As all good things in life seem to have I immediately found a connection. A link to something else that has made an impression on me. Mueck was a model maker and puppeteer in his early career and had worked on one of my all time favorite films Labyrinth. He had even contributed the voice to my favorite Labyrinth character, the rock summoning Ludo.
After running his own company producing photorealistic props for a number of years Mueck transitioned into fine art with a project he worked on with his mother in law producing some figures for a piece she was working on. He was catapulted into the public’s eye with his heart wrenching piece “Dead Dad.”
The incredible realism of Mueck’s work is not the only notable feature. The way he plays with scale causes his pieces to have an almost jarring impact on the viewer. The undersized pieces draw you in, causing you to look down on, and directly into the scene. The over sized pieces feeling overwhelm and dominate, forcing you to take the scene in in pieces.
A few more of his incredible sculptures:
