At the invitation of Disney Brasil, the plastic artist Vik Muniz will be at SP-Arte 2023 with the exhibition “GIBI”, which will take place from March 29 to April 2 at the Bienal Pavilion. The 26m² installation will house seven works created based on the artist’s inspiration and admiration for Walt Disney.
Vik Muniz is internationally recognized for his work in photography, challenging the viewer’s perception by crafting images composed of a variety of unconventional materials, often citing significant references from visual culture in general, both erudite and popular. For the “GIBI” exhibition, the artist presents reinterpretations of classic Mickey and friends comic books, released during the last century.
“Walt Disney helped shape my ability to imagine things. He was my first favorite artist. However, even before watching Snow White or Bambi, I had already been introduced to his world through comic books, a sequential medium between the still image and the hypnotic speed of cinema. The images in this small exhibition illustrate a dialogue between his work, which is instinctively popular and accessible, with the exclusive world of the so-called fine arts”, explains Vik Muniz. “Paradoxically, working with fragments of universal archetypes, nothing seemed more personal and inherent to me, because when I created these mosaics, I realized my own impetus to bring these two different universes closer together. It was through Gibi that I began to understand what art was and what wasn’t,” he adds.
The initiative is part of the actions commemorating the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company and the works will later be transformed into a licensing guide, originating official products licensed with the artwork in the exhibition. In addition, following SP-Arte, the installation travels to Japan and will be shown at the Nichido Contemporary Art gallery, in Tokyo, in April.