Vik Muniz, Woman of Algiers, after Pablo Picasso (Surfaces), 2022

Brazilian artist and photographer Vik Muniz’s most recent series Surfaces is currently on display in the FOTOCUBISMO exhibition at Ben Brown Fine Arts in Mayfair, London until 26th May.

Born in Sao Paulo Vik Muniz’s abstract studies of shape and form recall the Cubism of Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger, but he also integrates his own personal style and techniques. Speaking to LUX, he described Cubism as: “…a response by artists to the hegemonic influence of photography on the way we see the world. They saw something in the world that was more complex, more human, and more multifaceted, and to go back after such a long time and use the same medium, the medium of photography, to reinsert this power of questioning to Cubistic images seemed like a challenge but also it just became an extension of what I was doing earlier.”

Vik Muniz, Still Life 2, after Giorgio Morandi (Surfaces), 2022

In this series, Muniz uses a hybrid approach, photographing his own paintings and collages which are often inspired by iconic images from art history, from Otto Freundlich’s works to those of Burle Marx. The resulting photograph is then edited and reassembled to create the final piece, one of many layers and textures, which mixes the mediums of photography and painting and calls the viewer to question the nature of their own perception. In this way, Muniz presents a study on ways of looking and seeing, while also exploring the reality that lies beneath the surface.

Vik Muniz, Dora Maar with Cat (Surfaces), 2022

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On his Surfaces series, Muniz told LUX: “The idea is that the pictures are filled with layers of meaning that shift the pictorial plane and the objective is to cause a lot of ambiguity. So whatever you see as a piece of paper may just be a picture of a piece of paper. I hope to create a lot of confusion in the gaze of the viewers, and that it becomes not only entertaining but also revealing of what they are hoping to see in a picture.”

Vik Muniz, Guernica, after Pablo Picasso 2 (Surfaces), 2022

Muniz has gained international recognition for his distinctive approach of creating compositions using unconventional materials such as chocolate, sugar, garbage, diamonds, caviar, toys, junk, scrap metal, dry pigment, vintage postcards and even dust. His work often blurs the line between reality and representation, compelling viewers to question what they see. With numerous accolades and exhibitions in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide, Muniz continues to push boundaries, challenging conventional notions of materiality and visual representation. His work is included in major collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and Tate, London.

Vik Muniz, Nude Descending Staircase, after Marcel Duchamp 2 (Surfaces), 2021

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Vik Muniz: FOTOCUBISMO is the fourth solo exhibition presented at the Ben Brown Fine Arts gallery. The gallery opened in 2004 in the heart of Mayfair and positioned itself on the contemporary art scene, as well as becoming known for its exhibitions of 20th century artists. In 2009, they opened up a second gallery space in Hong Kong, with another in Palm Beach launching in 2021.

Vik Muniz: FOTOCUBISMO is on display until 26th May, 2023

S.H. Raza, Sienne Port, Oil on canvas; 1960. Image courtesy: Piramal Museum of Art

The first major exhibition of Sayed Haider Raza since his death in 2016, S.H. Raza: Traversing Terrains explores five decades of the painter’s work from the early 1940s to the late 1990s, tracing his development and influence as both artist and philosopher.

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S.H Raza; Eglise et Calvaire Breton; Oil on Canvas; 1956. Image courtesy: Piramal Museum of Art

‘The most tenacious memory of my childhood is the fear and fascination of Indian forests,’ Raza said in an interview 2001. ‘We lived near the source of the Narmada river in the centre of the dense forests of Madhya Pradesh. Nights in the forests were hallucinating; sometimes the only humanising influence was the dancing of the Gond tribes…’

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As such, the scenes Raza often depicts are full of life, movement, memory, Indian iconography, nature, philosophy, music and poetry. They’re otherworldly, sometimes strange and chaotic, sometimes precise and ordered, fusing together the landscapes of France (where he lived after being awarded painting scholarship at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris) with the feverish colours and unique aesthetics of India.

S.H. Raza; Benares; 1944; Watercolour on paper. Image courtesy: Piramal Museum of Art

In 1947 ( the same year that India gained independence), Raza co-founded the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group, advocating an avant-garde style (Fauvist colours, Cubist forms, Expressionist brushwork) with Indian subject matters and themes.

This expansive retrospective provides an intriguing and important insight not only into the artist’s career and life, but also into the progression of Mumbai’s art scene.

‘S.H. Raza: Traversing Terrains’  runs until 28 October 2018 at the Piramal Museum of Art, Mumbai.  For more information on the exhibition visit piramalmuseum.com/exhibitions/current/sh-raza-traversing-terrains