the arts

Larger than life Ron Mueck exhibit to open at MFAH

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Ron Mueck, A Girl,2006, mixed media, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo: NGC. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Man in a Boat, 2002, mixed media, Courtesy Anthony d’Offay, London. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Mask II, 2001–02, mixed media, Gift of Helen and Charles Schwab through the Art Supporting Foundation to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Still Life, 2009, mixed media, Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Stefan Altenburger Photography Zürich. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Young Couple, 2013, mixed media, Yageo Foundation Collection, Taiwan. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Patrick Gries. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Youth, 2009, mixed media, ISelf Collection, London. Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Alex Delfanne. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Couple under an Umbrella, 2013, mixed media, Courtesy Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Patrick Gries. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Woman with Shopping, 2013, mixed media, Collection of the artist, Courtesy Hauser & Wirth and Anthony d’Offay, London. Photo: Patrick Gries. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Man in Blankets, 2000, mixed media, Private Collection. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Untitled (Seated Woman), 1999, mixed media, Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase. Photograph by Kevin Todora. © Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Crouching Boy in Mirror, 1999–2002, mixed media, The Broad Art Foundation.© Ron Mueck

Ron Mueck, Two Women, 2005, mixed media, Collection Glenn and Amanda Fuhrman, New York. Courtesy FLAG Art Foundation. Photo: Patrick Gries. © Ron Mueck

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Larger than life Ron Mueck exhibit to open at MFAHRon Mueck, A Girl,2006, mixed media, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo: NGC. © Ron Mueck

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- It's about to get hyperreal at the The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

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An exhibit highlighting the work of noted Australian hyperrealist sculptor Ron Mueck opens this weekend. Mueck's work explores the human condition and cycle of life by throwing aside conventions of size and scale, crafting subjects noticeably larger or smaller than life.

Australian sculptor Ron Mueck brings hyperrealism to MFAH

"I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting," Mueck said of his work in 2003. "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."

The MFAH collection features subjects at all stages of life, from an infant to adolescent lovers and elderly women.

Mueck's experiment with size is especially jarring -- some of his pieces could fill a gallery, while others measure mere feet. His presentation of a noticeably oversized infant, titled 'Baby Girl,' inverts the direct relationship between age and size.

The exhibit opens to the public on Sunday, Feb. 26. Admission is free for MFAH members and children under 12, $18 for adults and $13 for college students, seniors, military and teenagers. Tickets can be purchased online.