Ron Mueck at the Foundation Cartier

Today is the last day of the Australian artist Ron Mueck's installation at the Foundation Cartier. I wish I could say that I had become accustomed to waiting in long ques since my arrival in Paris. Lets just say I have accepted it as part of the process of looking at art here... it just means that I expect more when I finally get past the ticket box and security check points.

Yesterday Mueck tested these expectations since we began our walk to Montparnasse in the fitful late winter rain typical of Paris in February. There were two pieces in the exhibition that made it worth the rain and the wait... extraordinary works that made me realize what the fuss has been about. I believe Mueck had a piece in the Whitney Biennial several years ago. That work, also seen in the Melancholy exhibition at the Grand Palais, has a larger than life illustrative quality common in the film industry which makes sense since that is where he got his start. What hasn't made sense to me until this exhibition is why I his work was getting so much attention in the art world. Photography was forbidden at the Foundation Cartier so I have included the image above from the Venice Biennial to illustrate Mueck's ability to manipulate perception and scale.

At its best the work seems as if the figures are living, breathing creatures on a scale that tests perception. There is a piece of a giant scaled middle aged woman in bed, looking out the glass walls of the gallery. The sheets of her bed are monumental, her skin luminous, yet careworn. Mueck has the eye of Ingres when tacking skin tone and its subtlies. I think this is the quality that impresses me most. Its unnerving.

The other work that blew me away was about the size of two malnourished felines laying side by side - but it was a human couple spooning, both gazing into the distance, half dressed on a flat white pedestal. As we gazed upon this image it seemed as if they were about to stretch the muscles and roll over...the same lumious quality to their skin and lips, the bottom of their feet...it was an amazing work.

The other three works on view didn't come close to comparing to these two. They has a doll like illustrative quality that reminded me of Duane Hanson or Bill Nelson... but less successful.

The Foundation Cartier is located in Montparnasse on Boulevard Raspail near Cemetrary Montparnasse the famous cafe Le Dome where Simone and Sartre once held court. It's worth a visit if you are in the 14th Ar and need a 21st C art fix to balance the beauty of the 19th C architecture. The foundation is a glass and steel structure with an interior court yard past its glass facade. The structure pays great homage to the Parisians love of trees and has built around them. They are literally part of the design and it is quite remarkable.