Vik Muniz (Brazil, 1961) is a renowned Brazilian artist known for his complex photographic creations. His first camera was a gift from art collector Lio Malca, who observed a great talent in him and wanted to support him from the beginning.  

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In his work, Muniz experiments with a wide variety of diverse materials such as chocolate, garbage, and even bacterial microorganisms, which he uses to recreate iconic images found in art history and culture, or from his own personal history. He uses photography as a basis from which to work upon. Through these works, Muniz explores memory and perception, and he reflects on the nature of images. His creative process transcends the photographic image and generates new readings of reality and representation.

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Vik Muniz is interested in the creative process itself and explores the tensions and instability that arise between antagonistic natures such as the artisanal and the mechanical, the ephemeral and the enduring, or between the sublime and the popular.

Muniz has participated in numerous individual exhibitions and museums such as Museo de Arte del Banco de la República, Bogotá, MoMA and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, Pinacoteca do Estado de Sao Paulo, MACRO in Rome, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin. Due to his activism and social commitment, he was designated Goodwill Ambassador by UNESCO in 2011.

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Panther, 1999
Toned gelatin silver print

16 x 20 inches