15/06/10 . .
I'm still reeling from the sheer magnitude, brilliance and detail of Ron Mueck's sculptures, currently showing at GoMA, Brisbane.
Photos courtesy of my partner, Francesco Domenico Romeo
SMH Review, May 7, 2010
Human flesh is on display in all its flawed, porous glory now at the Gallery of Modern Art with the anticipated National Gallery of Victoria's touring Ron Mueck exhibition officially opened today.
In a sign of the times, gallery officials have allowed the startling works to be photographed by the paying public in an attempt to harness the promotional power of social media.
Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said it was hoped photographs uploaded to networking and file-sharing sites such as Flickr, Twitter and Facebook would fuel grass-roots buzz about the exhibition and boost visitor figures.
"We're encouraging people to take photographs of themselves with these lifelike sculptures and pass them on to friends," he said.
"Sometimes colossal and at other times miniature, the works resonate with deep emotion.
"Often naked and suspended in states of self-consciousness or deep contemplation, Mueck's figures are overwhelmingly human."
The exhibition is the largest collection of the world-famous Melbourne born artist ever collated and includes several of his most recognisable works as well as a four new pieces which made their public debut in Melbourne earlier this year.
Dead Dad 1996/97, an allegory to his deceased father, greets patrons with stark fragility at the display's entrance - the diminutive figure lies prostrate on a blunt white board, scaled-down but eerily lifelike.
In provocative contrast, the next work A girl 2006 confronts viewers with the grotesque reality of birth as embodied by the 15 foot long sculpture of a newborn infant girl complete with blood, umbilical cord and matted hair.
Mueck's fourteen year career has been plagued by critical acclaim and outcry - derided as a shock-sculptor, celebrated as a meticulous genius - but he is no less one of the country's most influential working artists.
Ron Mueck is current at the Gallery of Modern Art until August 1. Admission for adults is $12 with concession and group discounts available. There is also a public program of talks, workshops and tours. Full information is available at www.qag.qld.gov.au/mueck.
It is such an amazing and powerful exhibition! I loved it!
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