Sikkema Jenkins & Co. is pleased to present Scraps, a solo exhibition of new work by Vik Muniz. This exhibition will be on view February 17 through April 9, 2022.

Vik Muniz’s practice considers the relationship between image production and art object, and how the distance between the two can be mediated in unexpected and innovative ways. Working in series, he begins with one method or medium that is then applied amongst a range of imagery and themes. He often utilizes unorthodox or found materials to recreate the likeness of iconic works from the art historical canon, or other culturally-prescient imagery. This reproduction introduces a space of ambiguity for the viewer, in which they both recognize the presence of the original artwork and conjure the memory of its viewing, while negotiating the encounter of a newly formed image mediated by different mediums and material interpretations.

Muniz’s newest body of work, entitled Scraps, developed from the use of textures in his previous Surfaces series and his interest in mosaic compositions. He begins his collage process by sourcing painted elements from his studio and assembling them into an abstracted mosaic, which is then photographed, printed, and cut up; the cut pieces are arranged and layered to form the new, final photographic image. The physical element of painting is thus subtracted from resulting art object but is evoked visually through the cut prints. These multiple levels of dimensionality effect a dynamic sense of composition, and a sublime tension between part and whole.

Scraps draws on the experience of memory, and the fragmentation of visual perception: of both piecing and uncovering a fundamental image from constituent parts. Many of the works in Scraps engage with current and historical political, environmental, and social issues, along with more personal photographs connected to Muniz’s practice. They are recurring scenes for the artist, appearing in what he calls a visual archaeology; the floral life from his neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, a room filled with the works of Kazimir Malevich, and the infamous sight of the bombed Oklahoma City building are among the numerous scenes that persist in his mind, beyond material presence. Forming these intricate and closely felt pictures layer by layer, they reflect the interconnected channels of perception and imagination that shape our relationship to images and the world they represent.

Vik Muniz was born in 1961, in São Paulo, Brazil, and currently lives and works in New York and Rio de Janeiro. His work has been exhibited in prestigious institutions worldwide, with recent solo exhibitions at the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA (2018); Belvedere Museum, Vienna, Austria (2018); Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Monterrey, Mexico (2017); Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, Bloomington, ID; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; and Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands (all 2016). His work is included in the collections of major international museums such as: Art Institute of Chicago, IL; Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, CA; The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Museum of Modern Art, NY; Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, São Paulo; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; among many others.

Muniz is involved in social projects that use art-making as a force for change. In 2010 his work with a group of catadores—pickers of recyclable materials—was the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentary film Waste Land. In recognition of his contributions to education and social development including his work with the catadores, he was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador in 2011. More recently, he opened Escola Vidigal, offering preschool and afterschool programs in art, design, and technology to children 4 to 8 years old at the favela Vidigal in Rio de Janeiro.