“Peonies”

Vik Muniz is one of the most prominent artists in Brazilian contemporary art. His work questions and challenges the limits of representation by appropriating raw materials such as cotton, sugar, chocolate, and even garbage, with which he composes landscapes, portraits, and iconic images taken from art history and the imagination of Western visual culture, attributing new meanings to both the materials and the representations created.

In his process, the artist creates ephemeral three-dimensional compositions, later recorded in photographs, condensing the constructed images into a lasting and reproducible object. This strategy generates a game of illusion: the images have a strong physical aspect, but deceive the viewer's eye regarding their materiality. As critic and curator Luisa Duarte points out, his work calls for a retrospective look that seeks to decipher the process, materials, and references in order to then approach the meaning.

Beyond his artistic merit, Muniz stands out for the social projects he coordinated, using art and creativity as agents of transformation in underprivileged communities, as well as creating works that give visibility to marginalized groups.

Vik Muniz lives and works between New York, United States, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Recent solo exhibitions include: "Vik Muniz – A Olho Nu", at the Ricardo Brennand Institute (2025), in Recife, Brazil; "Fotocubismo", at the Nara Roesler Gallery (2021), in São Paulo, Brazil; "Vik Muniz", at The Sarasota Museum of Art (SMOA), Ringling College of Art and Design (2019), in Sarasota, United States; "Imaginária", at Solar do Unhão, Museum of Modern Art of Bahia (MAM-BA) (2019), in Salvador, Brazil; "Vik Muniz: Verso", at the Belvedere Museum Vienna (2018), in Vienna, Austria; "Afterglow – Pictures of Ruins", at Palazzo Cini (2017), in Venice, Italy.

He has participated in numerous biennials, such as the 56th Venice Biennale, Italy (2015), and the 24th São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (1998). Among his group exhibitions, highlights include: "Naar Van Gogh", at the Vincent van GoghHuis (2018), in Zundert, Netherlands; "Troposphere – Chinese and Brazilian Contemporary Art", at the Beijing Minsheng Art Museum (2017), in Beijing, China; "Look at Me!: Portraits and Other Fictions from the “la Caixa” Contemporary Art Collection", at the Pera Museum (2017), in Istanbul, Turkey; and "Botticelli Reimagined", at the Victoria & Albert Museum (2016), in London, United Kingdom.

His works are part of the collections of institutions such as: Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, United States; Tate Gallery, London, United Kingdom; and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, United States.