Juan Muñoz

Jean Bernier Gallery, Athens
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1997

Exh. Cat., Washington D.C., Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Art Institute of Chicago; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; Juan Muñoz, October 2001 - March 2003, p. 188, illustrated

This work is in very good and sound condition overall. There is evidence of drying craquelure on the dress and also a fine crack on the top of the figure's left arm. The mirror exhibits evidence of light wear and handling.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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A self-proclaimed storyteller, Juan Muñoz's sculptures function as three-dimensional narratives. Credited with reviving the figurative sculpture tradition, Muñoz is known for manipulating his figures into complex environments and interrelationships that engage, and at times, alienate the viewer.  In the present work, Sara with Mirror, Muñoz integrates a wealth of multivalent references and themes that have long preoccupied the artist. An accomplished curator and writer, Muñoz was both extensively read and intellectual in his approach to art making. He came to maturity at a time when visual theory and notions about the observer were at the forefront of art historical discourse, ideas which had a profound impact on his work. As such, his practice is firmly moored in concerns about the act of seeing and conversely, being seen. Motifs such as mirrors and balconies recur in the artist's work and signify these concerns

Diminutive figures, such as dwarves and ventriloquists' dummies appear as familiar personnages in Muñoz's installations. While visiting the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Muñoz was intrigued to discover that one of the principal architects of the Rococo structure and garden, François de Cuvilliés, was a dwarf and former member of the royal court. Aware of the prominence of dwarves in the paintings of his compatriot, Diego Velázquez, whose renown work, Las Meninas, incorporates not only dwarfs but the motif of the mirror and an ambiguous point of view, Muñoz began to incorporate these figures into his work. Sara, the namesake of this and other works, is the model after whom Muñoz made his resin casts. Unlike many of Muñoz's figures which often have an anomic or hectoring presence, Sara is playful, almost coquettish in her bearing. Narcissistically absorbed in the contemplation of her own image, she gazes intently into the mirror, serving as the quintessential amalgamation of all of Muñoz's visual and intellectual concerns.