Image: Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Mori Art Museum in Tokyo will host ‘Ron Mueck’ from April 29 to September 23, 2026, bringing one of contemporary sculpture’s most closely watched figures back to Japan in a major solo presentation. The exhibition will feature 11 works spanning early to recent periods, including several being shown in Japan for the first time, and is organized with the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art.
According to the museum, the show focuses on Mueck’s long-running exploration of figurative sculpture and the ways his works unsettle ideas of scale, presence and reality. The artist, born in Australia in 1958 and based in the United Kingdom, has become known for sculptures that are either much larger or much smaller than life-size, creating works that appear intensely real while remaining visibly removed from ordinary human proportions. The museum describes that tension as central to how the works prompt individual interpretation and reflection.
The exhibition includes ‘Mass’ (2016-2017), one of Mueck’s major large-scale works, and extends across pieces from the early part of his career to more recent production. Mori Art Museum says six of the works on view will be shown in Japan for the first time, with ‘Angel’ (1997) singled out as an especially rare opportunity. The presentation follows a trajectory that began with the exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in Paris in 2023 and continued through Milan and Seoul before reaching Tokyo.
The museum’s exhibition text places Mueck within a broader history of contemporary figuration, noting that his work has expanded the possibilities of sculptural realism through innovative materials, techniques and modes of expression. It also points to the emotional range of the figures he makes, which are described as conveying solitude, fragility, anxiety and resilience. By combining exacting observation with philosophical inquiry, the sculptures maintain a balance between convincing physical detail and a certain ambiguity that keeps interpretation open.
Alongside the sculptures, the exhibition will present photographs and videos by French photographer and filmmaker Gauthier Dubraud, who documented Mueck’s studio and working process. Mori Art Museum says these materials will help reveal how the artist’s highly detailed sculptures are made, adding a process-based layer to the display. The accompanying exhibition catalogue will also include Mueck’s words, an interview with Dubraud and an essay by Kenichi Kondo, the museum’s adjunct curator.
The exhibition is scheduled for Mori Art Museum, on the 53rd floor of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, with no closure during the run. Standard admission is set at ¥2,300 on weekdays and ¥2,500 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, with discounted online prices available. The museum has also introduced special ticket options, including a set ticket combining ‘Ron Mueck’ with access to Tokyo City View and an AI voice-guide ticket powered by the artlas platform. The AI guide is designed to provide personalized route suggestions and multilingual commentary, including Japanese, English and Chinese, and the exhibition is set to run until September 23, 2026.
