Previously a professional puppeteer and model-maker for TV and film (he’s the voice of “Ludo” in Labyrinth, which is just one among many of his totally amazing accomplishments), Mueck’s work displays an astonishing technical mastery of his materials as well as a subtle, affecting appreciation for the mundane terrors and elations of everyday life, emphasized by his surreal use of scale.

Mueck’s latest exhibition, at Paris’s Fondation Cartier, opened this Monday. It’s not only a great introduction to his work in a fantastic, Jean Nouvel-designed setting (and a rare one – Mueck’s exhibition schedule is hardly packed), it also features three new sculptures from the artist. This is no small thing – Mueck’s painstaking attention to detail means that works can take months, even years to realize. Which is especially apparent in the specially-commissioned film that accompanies the exhibition, entitled Still Life: Ron Mueck at Work and directed and shot by Mueck’s friend  Gautier Leblonde over two years. The film is a subtle, fly-on-the-wall affair, in which Mueck barely speaks at all (aside from a well-timed expletive when he messes up the varnish on an eyeball), giving a powerful sense of the artist’s meticulous practice and the many hours of work that go into each piece.

Works featured in the exhibition include well-known classics, such as Man in a Boat (2002), Mask II (2001-2) and Woman With Sticks (2008) as well as the three new offerings: the monumental Couple Under An Umbrella; the ambiguous,  small-sized Young Couple and the affecting Woman With Shopping Bags (all 2013). One of the major highlights of the exhibition, however is the opposition of Drift (2009), a Sexy Beast–style character lying on a lilo, his wiry arms splayed horizontally like a rendering of Christ, with Youth (2009), a young man inspecting a stigmata-like wound on his abdomen. Together, these are a good summation of what Mueck’s work does at best: both figures are tawdry and holy,  ordinary and transcendental, fake yet unsettlingly lifelike.

Ron Mueck is open at the Fondation Cartier, Paris, until September 29. fondation.cartier.com

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What do you love about the ChiBeCa area? What’s special about it?

Edward Symes: ChiBeCa is a crossroads. A place where worlds collide. Old and new. Rich and poor. Beourgois and industrial. Luxury lofts exist across the street from East Africans who open suitcases on the street and sell knockoff handbags all day long. A plastics supplier, rubber company, or lumber yard is only a block away. But its also in the backyard of the richest neighborhood in the city. I think this opens up a lot of creative possibilities. It’s in Manhattan – but it’s still “other-worldly” to many in the art world. It’s a place where you can break the rules and develop a unique voice. This show is about that collision. ChiBeCa is filled with a great tradition of independent art and is one of the few areas in Manhattan where artists can still afford a studio space.

Take us through Frontrunner’s key goals.

Michael Fasciano: Frontrunner began when we launched an online magazine in the fall of 2009. The gallery opened in 2010 to host studios and a place for emerging artists to show their work. Today we work with talented musicians, designers, photographers, and filmmakers on a variety of multimedia projects.

How did you go about pulling in and selecting the images? What kind of aspects were you looking for in prospective stills?

Leah Overstreet: I selected portraits for this show that showed a glimpse of an individual’s personality that you don’t normally see. All of the photographs were taken in Cortlandt Alley over a period of one year. The alley runs through the heart of ChiBeCa and still has a sense of old New York with its fire escapes, loading docks, and brick walls. The photos were taken with an old Hasseblad camera and Tri X film. I wanted the photographs to look like they could have been taken today or 100 years ago and have a sense of timelessness. The individuals shown make up the neighborhood and what has come to be known as ChiBeCa.

If you had to pick a favourite year in New York’s history, what would be and why?

2012. This year is going to be bigger and better.

How will Frontunner continue to develop and expand as a project in the future?

Frontrunner Magazine celebrated our 10th issue in April. We are a quarterly online magazine. We don’t publish every day or every week but we offer original writing, photography, and short films. Recently we developed an artist residency program in the gallery with MFA students at Parsons The New School. They produced a show of photography, video, and mixed media from their recent trip to China. Our studio has two films in progress, a summer art festival, and a music album scheduled to be released.

Frontrunner Gallery – 59 Franklin Street, 646-675-6727, Tribeca / Downtown. The exhibition is open from April 19 – April 30.

Words: Jack Mills

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What was the inspiration behind Limbo?

Limbo is myself – the way I think and express. The inspiration for the show is the same as what inspired me to grow, personally. I learn from the people around me and the people I love. The exhibition is inspired by our pasts and hidden depths.

You said that you’ve battled with depression. How instrumental do you think art has been in helping you overcome it?

Art has always been a means to learn more about myself and the world around me. Through this, I have found painting a great way of easing my anxiety and depression.

Your work is very expressive. If you were told you could never paint again, how else would you express yourself?

If I couldn’t paint again, I don’t know what I would do! I know I wouldn’t use a spray can, though.

If you could choose an artist, living or dead, who would you love to come and see one of your exhibitions?

Francis Bacon. He knows how to encapsulate the atmosphere of an image, and as an artist that inspires me. I would be interested to know whether or not he think I have been successful in achieving a sense of atmosphere.

What’s next for Tim Silversides?

For now, I am just really happy with the reception I’ve had from my last two shows. I am looking forward to the next show, which I plan to have at Mother London where I work.

Words: Gavin Jewkes

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The Victoria & Albert Museum UK’s National Collection of the Art of Photography is composed of a vast half million works. This includes the hundreds of fashion photographs, which will be unveiled for this Selling Dreams UK tour.  First stop: Light House.

Here is some of what to expect from the collection: