Ron Mueck at Hauser & Wirth

If you had happened to wander through the StatuePhilia exhibition at the British Museum in late 2008, you would probably have come across the above sculpture. Its name is Mask II and, standing nearly 1.5m high, it is a self-portrait of the sculptor Ron Mueck, asleep. Mueck began his professional career in 1996 when his mother-in-law, Paula Rego, introduced him to the Saatchi Gallery after the pair collaborated on one of Rego's pieces for the Hayward Gallery. This resulted in several successful commissions for Mueck, and from there his work has flourished.

This morning I had the pleasure of seeing some of Mueck's recent work in the flesh, so to speak, at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in London's Savile Row, and it was incredible. The beauty apparent in this exhibition, through Mueck's hyper-realistic sculptures of the human body, was fascinating. 

Drift, 2009. Mixed media
118 x 96 x 21 cm / 46 1/2 x 37 3/4 x 8 1/4 in

Drift is a sculpture of a middle aged lothario lying as though crucified on a lilo, floating against a swimming-pool-coloured wall. From almost all angles he appears to be sleeping, lending a serene feeling to the piece. But if you stand close, right beside him, his eyes are open and looking expressionlessly down at you. There is something immensely disturbing about this, especially since the piece is apparently intended to ponder the fragility of human life. He is supported by nothing more than plastic and air, and yet can only lie paralyzed upon it, and I think this works well as a metaphor for the helplessness of humans. His open eyes imply an awareness of his fate, and his lack of action implies acceptance. This could easily be a comment on how, if we took the time to consider our postition, we might all choose to spend our days in the pursuit of pleasure: drifting aimlessly on lilos, inactive and seemingly content.

Woman with sticks, 2008, Mixed media
187 x 230 x 86 cm / 73 5/8 x 90 1/2 x 33 7/8 in (overall)
This piece, the Woman with sticks, was for me the most interesting sculpture in the exhibition. Her heavy, middle-aged body represents the classical figure of woman, as painted by Rubens and Titian, for example. Her struggle to control an 'unwieldy bundle of sticks nearly twice her size, suggests a woman tackling the tasks set in fairytales and legends'. I love that Mueck chose to portray the nigh-impossible ideals which women today are expected to conform to, and the tasks they are expected to perform, as a bundle of sticks, since it echoes the old idiom of 'creating a rod for your own back'. The woman is small and in danger of being overcome by her burden, her hair is greying, and all over her perfectly rendered northern skin are inch long scratches from the where the sticks have grazed her. The message that by struggling to over-achieve, we harm ourselves, is poignantly conveyed in this piece and is in keeping with the 'consideration of the human condition' theme which we are driven towards by all the sculptures in this exhibition.

If you get the chance, before May 26th, this exhibition  is really worth it. Promise.

Hauser & Wirth London,
Savile Row, South Gallery

23 Savile Row
London W1S 2ET

Gallery hours:

Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm

 

Channelling Chanel: Crystallizing in A/W 2012

We really should have spotted this one miles off. Considering the slick geometry seen gracing the runways of LAMB and Balenciaga last Spring, it's almost surprising that nobody managed the transition to crystalline couture sooner. But it is no surprise at all that when somebody finally did make the move, it was Chanel. In a beautiful evolution from the ice and pearls so recently favoured by Karl Lagerfield, when their A/W 2012 collection hit the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week last month, it was crystal clear (oh yes I did...) that they had hit upon something special. Taking a marked detour from the more familiar high fashion backdrop of a private jet (S/S 2012), this show (for that is what Chanel World is - a spectacle!) saw its models weaving through an ethereal landscape of 30ft blocks of uncut amethyst, rock crystal and opaque quartz.

These chunky bangles and an amethyst-like clutch, festooned (lovely word, had to use it) with rose quartz, combined to set my own special version of Spidey-sense - we shall call it Magpie-radar - into red alert, and it made me happy.

Jagged blocks of crystal in pale, watery shades were incorporated into many a collar, studded the 5-inch heels (below) and were heavily encrusted to lapels and cuffs. They also, in a surprisingly charming style, graced several eyebrows of Chanel's beautiful, nymph-like models.

The mineral theme was also translated into fabric metaphors, with combinations of wool and leather sculpted into suggestively angular forms. Flushes of sulphur, lapis-lazuli, emerald and amethyst are here brought to life in juxtaposition with more gentle shades of azurite and obsidian. Pure prismic joy. 

As Lagerfield modestly said to style.com, "Nature is the greatest designer", and I am totally in accord. However, it is thrilling to see how versatile a designer Lagerfield himself is, even managing to incorporate Chanel classics like the feminine white-skirt-suit and thick woollen jumpsuit into even this most original of collections.

(cue applause)