Vik Muniz is a contemporary visual artist born in 1961 in São Paulo, Brazil. He is best known for re-purposing everyday materials (from trash to peanut butter and jelly) for intricate and heavily layered recreations of canonical artworks. His work has been met with both commercial success and critical acclaim and has been exhibited worldwide.

Muniz began to discover art in the books he borrowed from his high school library and later studied advertising at the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado de São Paulo. When he was 18, Muniz worked in Brazil, for an advertising company, redesigning an outdoor medium – billboards. He then collected money and left in 1983 for New York. In 1988, his first solo exhibition as a sculptor was held. In 1997, he was featured in a show at the Museum of Modern Art.

In 1998, Muniz participated in the 24th International Biennale in São Paulo, and in 2001, he represented Brazil at the 49th Biennale in Venice, Italy. He has had his work exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Modern in London, and many more. Vik Muniz lives and works between New York City and Rio de Janeiro. Martin Lawrence Galleries is proud to have select Muniz works in our inventory, which can be seen here.