Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Image Not Available for Untitled (Seated Woman)
Untitled (Seated Woman)
Image Not Available for Untitled (Seated Woman)

Untitled (Seated Woman)

Artist (Australian, born 1958)
Date1999
MediumSilicone, acrylic, polyurethane foam and fabric
DimensionsOverall: 25 1/4 × 17 × 16 1/2 in. (64.14 × 43.18 × 41.91 cm)
Height (on pedestal): 64 in. (162.56 cm)
Credit LineCollection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase
Object number2000.3
Status
Not on view
Copyright© Ron Mueck
Category
Label TextUntitled (Seated Woman), 1999, like all of Ron Mueck’s sculpture, is stunningly realistic, except in scale. Mueck’s figures are often larger or smaller than life-size, and this creates his work’s greatest impact. In the case of Seated Woman, scrupulous attention to detail and props on a small scale evoke wide-ranging emotional responses—the woman’s demeanor and diminished size make her seem delicate, precious, vulnerable, and lost in thought.

Mueck’s figures come from real life and imagination. Seated Woman is based on his wife’s grandmother. To create this piece, and most of his sculpture, Mueck made a model from clay and then cast it in silicone, touching up and adding color and props as he progressed. Not surprisingly, the artist began his career as a puppeteer and puppet maker. He worked on children’s television shows from 1979 to 1983 and then moved from Australia to London, where he made special-effects models for advertising, television, and films, including Labyrinth and The Story Teller.