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OTTAWA - Works by two important figures in contemporary art -- internationally renowned Australian sculptor Ron Mueck and Berlin-based video artist Guy Ben-Ner -- are featured in a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada.

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The Canadian Press

Ron Mueck’s “Seated Woman”.

The exhibition, titled "Real Life," follows Mueck's solo 2007 show at the gallery and offers viewers "the opportunity to investigate his production in great detail," said gallery director Pierre Theberge.

"At the same time it introduces us to the works of Guy Ben-Ner that humorously but critically engage the everyday dramas of real life."

Preparatory materials for both artists, including sketches and storyboards, are part of the exhibition.

Mueck's hyper-realist sculptures revisit the course of life from birth to death, the gallery says. Last year the gallery acquired "A Girl," Mueck's mammoth lifelike sculpture of a newborn girl. Two Ottawa art-lovers donated $500,000 to the gallery to help it purchase the work, which is featured in the exhibit along with the enormous "Head of a Baby" and four other sculptures by the artist.

The exhibit includes nine works by Ben-Ner, including "Stealing Beauty," a video he filmed in Ikea stores around the world. The gallery recently acquired the work.

"Real Life" continues to Sept. 28.