The Frick Pittsburgh Presents Clayton Days Revisited: A Project By Vik Muniz

The Frick revisits a series of work created by internationally renowned contemporary artist during 1999–2000 Pittsburgh residency

PITTSBURGH, July 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Opening Saturday, July 13, 2013 at The Frick Art Museum, Clayton Days Revisited: A Project By Vik Muniz features a suite of 65 photographs by the internationally renowned contemporary artist that were created during his residency at the Frick in 1999–2000. To complement these photographs, the Frick will also exhibit ten works from three different recent series created by the artist in the thirteen years since his Frick residency. Admission to the exhibition is free and runs from July 13–October 27, 2013.

Frick director Bill Bodine comments, "As the Frick's first artist in residence more than a decade ago, Vik Muniz provided us with a fresh perspective on Clayton and the significance of the site. We are excited to provide our audience the opportunity to revisit the remarkable suite of images that comprise Clayton Days. Picture Stories by Vik Muniz, along with a compelling selection of recent works by one of the most interesting artists of our time. The current installation reveals multiple layers of meaning in Vik Muniz's work created at the Frick—including interpretations that may not have been clear when the work was first presented—and new interpretive materials will inspire visitors to think about and appreciate these rich images and the stories they evoke."

Muniz (b. 1961) was invited to be the Frick's first artist-in-residence in 1999. The project and 2000 exhibition, Clayton Days. Picture Stories by Vik Muniz, marked the Frick's first venture into working with a living artist, and was an acknowledgment of the important perspective that contemporary artists give historic collections by approaching them with fresh eyes and new insights.

The photographs in Clayton Days—elaborately staged still life images and genre scenes—constitute Muniz's carefully constructed vision of how daily life might have been in the 23 rooms and on the grounds surrounding the Victorian-era house.

Since working with the Frick, Muniz's international reputation has grown exponentially; the 2010 film Waste Land documenting his work with garbage pickers or catadores in Rio de Janiero, Brazil was nominated for an Academy Award, garnering further international fame for the artist. While his public persona has become more recognizable, Muniz's work continues to be marked by an inimitable blend of wit, art historical savvy, aesthetic excellence and social relevance.

In addition to the Clayton Days prints from 1999–2000, the exhibition will include a selection of recent work to provide a sense of what Muniz has accomplished since his Pittsburgh residency. This selection of is composed of ten works from three different recent series created in the thirteen years since his Frick residency. These works include one example from the 2003 project, Rebus (Alice Liddell); a seven-print series of chromogenic prints from the 2008–2011 Pictures of Garbage series (the Catadores featured in Waste Land); and two examples from 2011 the Pictures of Magazines series, The Floor Scrapers, after the 1875 painting by Gustave Caillebotte and Wheatfield with Cypresses after Vincent van Gogh's 1889 canvas.

The Frick will offer a variety of public programs related to this exhibition, including a lecture by Vik Muniz at The Frick Art Museum on October 9, 2013 at 7 PM. Details are available at TheFrickPittsburgh.org.

Clayton Days Revisited: A Project by Vik Muniz was organized by the Frick Art & Historical Center and presented with the generous support of the Laurel Foundation. This project was originally made possible by The Heinz Endowments in 2000.

SOURCE Frick Art & Historical Center