The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain and Mori Art Museum have opened “Ron Mueck,” an exhibition running from April 29 to September 23, 2026, on the 53rd floor of Mori Tower in Roppongi, Tokyo.
Ron Mueck “Mass” 2016-2017
Synthetic polymer paint on fiberglass
Dimensions variable
Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Felton Bequest, 2018
Installation view: Ron Mueck, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2026
Photo: Masaya Yoshimura
Photo courtesy: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
Ron Mueck was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1958 and has been based in the United Kingdom since 1986. After more than two decades working in film and advertising, he turned to sculpture in the mid-1990s. His output is remarkably sparse — only around fifty works in thirty years. Each piece can take months, sometimes years, to complete. That slowness is not incidental; it is the method.
What distinguishes Mueck’s sculptures is scale. His human figures are rendered either vastly larger or strikingly smaller than life, destabilizing the viewer’s perception from the moment of encounter. The surfaces are painstakingly detailed — skin texture, pores, veins — close enough to trigger the sense that something is alive, yet unmistakably not. In that tension, Mueck locates the interior: loneliness, fragility, anxiety, resilience. The works do not explain these states. They embody them.
Ron Mueck “Mask II” 2002
Private collection
Installation view: Ron Mueck, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2026
Photo: Masaya Yoshimura
Photo courtesy: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
His First Solo Exhibition in Japan in Eighteen Years. Six Works Shown for the First Time.
This exhibition originated at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris in 2023, before traveling to Milan and Seoul. The Fondation’s relationship with Mueck is longstanding; its collection includes “In Bed” (2005) and other key works.
Mueck’s last solo exhibition in Japan was held at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa in 2008. This presentation at Mori Art Museum marks his return after eighteen years. Eleven works are on view, spanning early pieces through recent production — a rare opportunity to trace the arc of his practice. Six of the eleven are making their Japanese debut, including the early landmark “Angel” (1997).
Ron Mueck “In Bed” 2005
Collection: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
Installation view: Ron Mueck, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2026
Photo: Hasegawa Kenta
Photo courtesy: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Ron Mueck “Angel” 1997
Private collection
Installation view: Ron Mueck, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2026
Photo: Masaya Yoshimura
Photo courtesy: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
At the center of the exhibition is the large-scale installation “Mass” (2016–2017). The countless oversized skull sculptures overwhelm the viewer in a way that is difficult to prepare for. Alongside the sculptures, photographs and film by French photographer and filmmaker Gautier Deblonde — documenting Mueck’s studio and process — are also on view, offering a rare look at how these objects come into being.
Ron Mueck “Mass” 2016-2017
Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Felton Bequest, 2018
Installation view: Ron Mueck, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, 2025
Photo: Nam Kiyong
Photo courtesy: Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea
Ron Mueck
Dates：April 29 – September 23, 2026
Venue：Mori Art Museum, 53F Mori Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Hours：10:00–22:00 (Tuesdays until 17:00, except public holidays) / Open daily
Admission：
Weekdays: Adults ¥2,300 (door) / ¥2,100 (online)
Students (high school / university): ¥1,400 (door) / ¥1,300 (online)
Junior high and under: Free
Seniors (65+): ¥2,000 (door) / ¥1,800 (online)
Weekends & holidays: Adults ¥2,500 (door) / ¥2,300 (online)
Organized by Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain and Mori Art Museum
Info：https://www.mori.art.museum/en/index.html
