Vik Muniz, Beach (Postcards From Nowhere) (2014) Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema & Jenkins Co., New York

Sikkema Jenkins Co. is currently presenting Album, an exhibition of recent works by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. Known for his bold and attention-grabbing works which he creates by incorporating an array of materials such as garbage, chocolate and diamonds, Muniz uses familiar images from art history as well as the collective memory of contemporary culture to create powerful large-scale assemblages that pay direct tribute to the history of painting and sculpture in equal measure.    In this exhibition, the artist focuses on memory, both collective and personal, using photography itself as a production tool. Separated into two series, Postcards from Nowhere and the eponymous Album, the work allows Muniz to investigate how memory is an endless notion that is in constant flux.

Vik Muniz, Wedding (Album) (2013), Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema & Jenkins Co., New York (more…)

Eric Fischl, Corrida in Ronda #4, (2008), via Elene Damenia for Art Observed

The New York Academy of Art is currently presenting The Big Picture, a brief series of large-scale paintings by five artists who embrace the challenge of large-scale canvases and epic scenery.  Curated by Peter Drake, the show has selected works from Neo Rauch, Mark Tansey, Vincent Desiderio, Jenny Saville and Eric Fischl for the show, inviting a comparative look at the varying techniques and approaches to painting on a grand scale.

Vincent Desiderio, Quixote (2008), via Elene Damenia for Art Observed (more…)