Vik Muniz

Vik Muniz (; born 1961) is a Brazilian artist and photographer. His work has been met with both commercial success and critical acclaim, and has been exhibited worldwide. In 1998, he participated in the 24th International Biennale in São Paulo, and in 2001, he represented Brazil at the 49th Biennale in Venice, Italy.

Early life Vik Muniz was born in 1961 in São Paulo, Brazil, as the only child of Maria Celeste, a telephone operator, and Vincente Muniz, a restaurant waiter. In his memoir, Muniz recalled struggling with writing in school which is why he turned to visuals to communicate his thoughts. At the age of 14, his math teacher recommended him to enter an art contest. He won and was awarded a partial scholarship to an art studio. While on the way to his first black-tie gala, Muniz witnessed and attempted to break up a street fight, where he was accidentally shot in the leg by one of the brawlers. He was paid by the shooter to not press charges and used the money to travel to the USA, Chicago, in 1983. In Chicago, Muniz worked at a local supermarket cleaning the parking lot while he attended night school to study English. In the English class, he learned Polish, Italian, Spanish, and Korean without any improvements to his English vocabulary. Later, Muniz attended culinary and carpentry classes where he learned most of his English.

Publications Clayton Days – Published by Frick Art & Historical Center, 2000. Jelly, Garbage + Toys: Making Pictures with Vik Muniz – Published by Harry N. Abrams, 2017. Natura Pictrix: Interviews and Essays on Photography – Published by New York : Edgewise, 2003. Vik Muniz: Model Pictures – Published by The Menil Foundation, 2002. Vik Muniz – Published by Gary Tatintsian Gallery, 2007. Vik Muniz: Reflex: A Vik Muniz Primer. – Published by Aperture, 2005. Rio de Janeiro Art Week, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. July 22 – 29, 2010. Haptic: Three Brazilian and Three Japanese Artists. Tokyo Wonder Site. Hongo, Tokyo, Japan. November 22, 2008 – January 12, 2009.

Awards 2013 – Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. 2010 – Honored with the Ordem do Ipiranga by the governor José Serra. São Paulo, Brazil, March 17. 2009 – Honored with the Medalha da Inconfidência by the governor of Minas Gerais, Mr. Aécio Neves. Minas Gerais, Brazil, April 21. 2009 – Honored with the Prêmio Cidadão Carioca by the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 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 – Premio Villa de Madrid de Fotografía “Kaulak" awarded by the Ayuntamiento de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. 2005 – International Artist Award granted by the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, Colorado. 1999 – Líderes Latinoamericanos para 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.