Only 11 works in the whole exhibition, and yet, so much to take in. And the piece that stayed with me most is one I couldn’t photograph. The Ron Mueck exhibition at the Mori Art Museum: today was wonderful, as always.
Who Is Ron Mueck?
Ron Mueck is a contemporary artist who creates sculptures of human figures that look astonishingly real. But “real” only applies to the texture; the sizes are either enormous or tiny. He has made just 49 works over the past 30 years, and this is his first solo exhibition in Japan in 18 years. This show brings together 11 works, from early masterpieces to recent pieces, six of them shown in Japan for the first time.
Actually, a long time ago, I saw Mueck’s half-finished eyeballs and models at the National Gallery in London. He was already a well-known artist back then, though nothing like today, and since I loved his work, I still remember how special it felt to see his open studio. Getting to see a full solo exhibition again, more than 20 years later, made me very happy.
Real, Yet Slightly Off from Reality
The first thing that surprised me inside was the crowd. Everyone loves contemporary art this much?! I was delighted, but then again, this is probably about how good the Mori Art Museum is at getting the word out, and how powerful Ron Mueck’s work is.
Woman with Sticks, In Bed, Angel: in every piece, the skin and hair look completely real, while the scale and situation are shifted away from reality. That’s why the works feel so real yet somehow unsettling, and you can’t look away. The texture makes them seem about to move at any moment. I even started worrying: doesn’t it make them anxious, being stared at by so many people? Of course they’re sculptures, so there’s no such worry . . . I mean, there isn’t. But they’re real enough to make you believe otherwise.
Mask II Is Fascinating from Behind, Too
Mask II, a giant sleeping man’s face, can be viewed all the way around. From the front, everything down to the eyelashes and stubble looks real, but walk behind it, and it’s hollow. Even though my head knew it was a sculpture, the moment I came back to the front, I thought “he’s sleeping . . .” all over again. Going back and forth like that was half the fun.
Dark Place, in the Darkness
Dark Place, a man’s head floating alone in a dark space, has real presence. I think the distance, the way you can’t quite approach it, is part of the work, but I’d love to see it in an even bigger, darker room someday.
Mass: 100 Giant Skulls
And then Mass, shown in Japan for the first time. One hundred giant white skulls, piled up to fill the exhibition room. The installation is arranged to fit each venue’s space, so the skulls go on and on, all the way down the corridor: skulls, skulls, skulls. The sight of them lined up next to the emergency exit sign on the floor was strangely surreal.
The One Work I Couldn’t Photograph
But the piece that stayed with me most was Woman with Shopping.
A mother, heavy plastic bags hanging from both hands, her baby held against her chest in a carrier. Her coat wrapped around the baby, her gaze fixed somewhere far away. The baby looks straight up at her tired face, the only one who does.
It felt too real, and I couldn’t point my camera at it. So this is the one work with no photo. Somehow, that feels right.
A Small Happy Find on the Way Home
After the exhibition, I found a Morihan nori shop vending machine at Azabu-juban Station! I love nori chazuke, rice with tea and seaweed, so I bought some without a second thought. Little encounters like this after an exhibition always feel like a small bonus. I later found out there’s also a Morihan vending machine at Ginza Station (laughs). I could have been buying these on my way home from kabuki all along.
Final Thoughts
I spent about an hour and a half there. With so few works, it’s an exhibition in which you can truly spend time with each piece one by one, and even so, I wished I had more time . . . The show runs until September, so if it’s on your list, go when you can take it slow. I might go back once more, to see that mother again.
