Vik Muniz: FOTOCUBISMO

Overview

“I’ve always been drawn to Cubism which often causes us to question our reality – through shape, form, composition. It goes beyond the pure mathematical figure or a flat composition. To me it was an art movement which humanized these very general, traditional ideas of perspective and placed them in a tactile world of sensation and feeling.” - Vik Muniz

Ben Brown Fine Arts is pleased to announce FOTOCUBISMO, the gallery’s fourth solo exhibition in the London gallery of internationally acclaimed Brazilian artist and photographer Vik Muniz, opening this April.

Exhibited for the first time in the United Kingdom, FOTOCUBISMO features work from Muniz’s most recent Surfaces series, which explores concepts of perception, reality, and representation while challenging traditional notions of materiality. Muniz’s work often draws inspiration from iconic images from art history. Looking to Cubist masters such as Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris and Georges Braque, these unique works are a result of the artist’s hybrid technique of photographing handcrafted, three-dimensional elements – most notably painting and collaged components – which are reprocessed through photographic collages. Muniz's newest works invite viewers to question and explore what lies beneath the surface, and to dissect each layer amidst the overlapping interventions.

These abstract studies compel the viewer to closely investigate the dichotomy between the physical object and its depiction, while at the same time reinventing the possibilities and questions around the construction of a photographic image. This exploration of iconic images from art history, which Muniz has repeatedly revisited throughout his career, furthers the artist’s investigations into the contradictions between visual perception, the physical world and art historical context.