ART CITIES:Paris-Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz, Messed up Colored Chart, 2018, Handmade series, Mixed media, 114 x 156 cm (framed), Unique, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie XippasBrazil’s leading artist on the international art scene, Vik Muniz is a multi-talented artist who most often works in 3-D materials to construct his images, which he then photographs to preserve the exact look, both formally and chromatically, envisioned in his mind when he began the piece. Works sold on the market are the limited edition photographs produced as the final result of these projects and are generally small editions of 10 or less.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Xippas Gallery Archive

In his new exhibition entitled “Handmade”, Vik Muniz explores the nature of perception, playing on the dichotomy between the object and its representation, and reinventing the possibilities of the construction of the photographic image. This new series, continues Muniz’ lifelong exploration of cognitive and perceptual analogies, emphasizes his interest in visual games, and celebrates his sense of play. Muniz challenges the viewer to see both the image and the material simultaneously, and to create literary and visual connections between artworks. The works, as the title of the exhibition suggests, are the result of a labor-intensive and meticulous process combining painting or collage and high-resolution digital photography. The results are complex compositions, each unique pieces, combining different techniques: paper and cardboard are painted, cut out and superimposed on a surface, before being photographed in order to allow for manipulation, rearranging and further photographing, and so on. In a labor-intensive and meticulous process, Vik Muniz reproduces images the Western viewer is familiar with from the print media, such as art masterpieces or legendary photographs from news magazines. After he has created his replicas, using a wide range of materials such as powdered pigment, dust, garbage or foods like sugar, chocolate and caviar, he photographs them and then destroys them so that they only exist as photographs. Viewed from a distance, the illusionistic effect and the resemblance of his works to the original pictures are striking. However, when seen up close the images dissolve into a chaotic array of materials, thus turning the attention of the viewer to the symbolic meaning and the formal characteristics of the substances as well as to the elaborate production process.

Info: Xippas Gallery, 108 rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, Duration 8/9-20/10/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Fri 10:00-13:00, Sat 10:00-19:00, www.xippas.com

Left: Vik Muniz, Peeping Tom,2018, Handmade series, Mixed media, 78 x 59 cm (framed), Unique, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Xippas. Right: Vik Muniz, Pools, 2018, Handmade series, Dye sublimation print on aluminum, 77 x 58 cm (framed), Unique, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Xippas
Left: Vik Muniz, Peeping Tom,2018, Handmade series, Mixed media, 78 x 59 cm (framed), Unique, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Xippas. Right: Vik Muniz, Pools, 2018, Handmade series, Dye sublimation print on aluminum, 77 x 58 cm (framed), Unique, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Xippas

 

Vik Muniz, Vidigal, 2018, Handmade series, Mixed media, 105 x 153 cm (framed), Unique, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Xippass
Vik Muniz, Vidigal, 2018, Handmade series, Mixed media, 105 x 153 cm (framed), Unique, Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Xippass