Author Description

"When a cousin of mine told me his seven-year old could paint a Picasso, I told him probably, but he couldn't do the back," writes Brazilian conceptual artist Vik Muniz about his Verso project. The series consists of obsessively faithful three-dimensional trompe l'oeil reproductions--using period hardware in a 1:1 scale--of the backs of such iconic works as Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," van Gogh's "Starry Night" and Seurat's "La Grande Jatte," including every scratch, scribble, label, trace of tape and faded pencil notation found on the original. For six years, Muniz worked in partnership with the curatorial and conservation departments of New York's MOMA and Guggenheim museums, the Art Institute of Chicago and a team of craftsman, artists, forgers and technicians to realize this project. Verso also introduces texts by essayist Luc Sante and MOMA curator Eve Respini.