Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz was born in São Paulo, Brazil in 1961. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A photographer and self-described ‘low-tech illusionist’ Muniz has created images in a wide-range of materials —  from chocolate and sugar to junk and toys to creating images, often art-historical, that he records with a camera.  He has had solo shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art, The International Center of Photography, Paco Imperial in Rio,  MACRO in Rome among others.  His work is in the collections of the MOMA,   The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Daros Latin America, Zurich, Switzerland, Fondation Cartier pour l’ArtContemporain, Paris, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, Museu de Arte Moderna de Sao Pãulo, Brazil, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, The Tate Gallery, London, UK, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN and The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY.

Vik Muniz was the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentary film Waste Land (2010) which followed his work with a group of catadores – pickers of recyclable materials – in JardimGramacho, the world’s largest garbage dump located outside Rio de Janeiro. In recognition of his contributions to education and social development including his work with the catadores, he was recently named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

SELECTED COLLECTIONS

21c Museum Foundation, Louisville, KY
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
ABN AMRO Art Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ackland Art Museum
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia
Ball State University Art Museum, Muncie, Indiana
Banco de España, Madrid, Spain
Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Paris
Caixa Forum, Fundación “la Caixa”, Madrid, Spain
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno Cabildo de Gran Canária, Canary Island, Spain
Centro Cultural Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, CAC. Malaga, Spain
Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
Chase Art Program, New York, NY
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia
Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
Daros Latin America, Zürich
Denver Art Museum, Denver
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Deutsche Bank, New York, New York
Exit Art, New York, NY
Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris, France
Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, Spain
Gana Art Center, Seoul, Korea
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Huis Marseille Museum for Photography, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hyundai International Division Gallery, Seoul, Korea
Inhotim Centro de Arte Contemporânea, Brumadinho, MG, Brazil
Instituto Itau Cultural, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
International Pacific College, Kobe City, Japan
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
J.P. Morgan Chase, New York, NY
La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris
Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas
Musee d’Art Contemporain de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec
Museo de Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC), León, Spain
Museu Bibliográfico Luis Angel, Bogotá, Colombia
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
National Gallery of Art Washington DC
Neuberger & Berman, New York, NY
New Museum, New York, NY
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Nichido Contemporary Art Da Vinci, Tokyo, Japan
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Orlando Museum of Art, Florida
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Prudential Foundation, Newark, New Jersey
Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, New York
Rooseum, Malmo, Sweden
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California
Sun America Investments Inc., Los Angeles, CA
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
The Bohen Foundation, New York, New York
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
The Contemporary Museum of Honolulu, Hawaii
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
The Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
The International Center of Photography, New York
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California
The Jewish Museum, New York
The MacArthur Foundation, Chicago
The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas
The Metropolitan Bank & Trust Collection, Cleveland, Ohio
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
The Tate Gallery, London, UK
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

COLLECTIONS

21c Museum Foundation, Louisville, KY
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan ABN AMRO Art Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ackland Art Museum. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia
Ball State University Art Museum, Muncie, Indiana
Banco de España, Madrid, Spain
Caisse des Dépôtset Consignations, Paris
CaixaForum, Fundación “la Caixa”, Madrid, Spain
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Centro Atlántico de Arte ModernoCabildo de Gran Canária, Canary Island, Spain
Centro Cultural Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, CAC. Malaga, Spain Centro per l’ArteContemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
Chase Art Program, New York, NY
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia
Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas Dallas Museum of Art, Texas
Daros Latin America, Zürich
Denver Art Museum, Denver
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Deutsche Bank, New York, New York
Eileen and Peter Norton, Santa Monica
Exit Art, New York, NY
Fondation Cartier pourl’ArtContemporain, Paris, France FundaciónTelefónica, Madrid, Spain
Gana Art Center, Seoul, Korea
George Eastman House, Rochester, New York
Greene Miami Art Museum, Coral Gables, Florida
Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
Huis Marseille Museum for Photography, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hyundai International Division Gallery, Seoul, Korea
IVAM – Centro Julio González, Valencia, Spain
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Inhotim Centro de Arte Contemporânea, Brumadinho, MG, Brazil InstitutoItau Cultural, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
International Pacific College, Kobe City, Japan
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
J.P. Morgan Chase, New York, NY
Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York
La MaisonEuropéenne de la Photographie, Paris
Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles
Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
MAP – Museu de Arte da Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington
Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, VT
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas
Montclair Museum, Montclair, New Jersey
Museed’ArtContemporain de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec
MuseoNacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
Museo de Arte Contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC), León, Spain
MuseuBibliográfico Luis Angel, Bogotá, Colombia
Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Museu de Arte ModernaAloísioMagalhães, Pernambuco, Brazil Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Brazil
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois
National Gallery of Art Washington DC
Neuberger & Berman, New York, NY
New Museum, New York, NY
New York Public Library, New York, NY
Nichido Contemporary Art Da Vinci, Tokyo, Japan
Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Orlando Museum of Art, Florida
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Prudential Foundation, Newark, New Jersey
Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, New York
Rooseum, Malmo, Sweden
Rose Art Museum. Brandeis University, Waltham, MA S.M.A.K. – Museum of Contemporary Art, Ghent, Belgium San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas Sun America Investments Inc., Los Angeles, CA
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, Connecticut
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
The Bohen Foundation, New York, New York
The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York
The Contemporary Museum of Honolulu, Hawaii
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
The Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta
The International Center of Photography, New York
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California
The Jewish Museum, New York
The MacArthur Foundation, Chicago
The Menil Collection, Houston, Texas
The Metropolitan Bank & Trust Collection, Cleveland, Ohio
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
The National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
The Princeton University Museum of Art, New Jersey
The Progressive Corporation, Mayfield Village, Ohio
The Rhode Island School of Design Modern Art Museum, Rhode Island
The Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri
The Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis, Missouri
The San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, California
The San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
The Speed Museum Louisville, Kentucky
The Tate American Fund, New York, NY
The Tate Gallery, London, UK
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The West Collection at SEI, Pasadena
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
University Art Museum, State Universe of New York, Albany, New York
University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virginia Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC

AWARDS

2010
Honored with the Ordem do Ipiranga by the governor José Serra. São Paulo, Brazil, March 17.

2009
Honored with the PrêmioCidadão Carioca 2009 by the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Honored with the Medalha da Inconfidência by the governor of Minas Gerais, Mr. AécioNeves. Minas Gerais, Brazil, April 21.

2008
Honored at CITYarts’ 40th Anniversary sponsored by Dr. Miriam & Sheldon G. Adelson, Candia Fisher, Winston Fisher, and chaired by Jane Holzer. New York, NY.

2007
Society for News Design Annual Creative Competition Award of Excellence in the category of Magazine Cover Design for the cover of The New York Times Magazine.

2005
National Artist Award granted by the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen, Colorado.
Premio Villa de Madrid de Fotografía “Kaulak” 2005, awarded by the Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

1999
LíderesLatinoamericanospara el Nuevo Milenio.CNN Time. NY, USA.

1998
Best Photography Exhibition, Second Place: Vik Muniz: Seeing is Believing. Awarded by The International Center of Photography and curated by Charles Stainback.