Hélio Oiticica presents a focused dialogue among works produced by the Brazilian artist between 1958 and ’63, anchored by Grande Núcleo, one of his most engaging installations. A central figure of the Neoconcrete movement, Oiticica was part of a counterreaction to Western European and Latin American Concretism, which valued the formal elements of geometric abstraction devoid of subjectivity. Oiticica questioned and expanded the limits of the painted surface by uniting form, space, and color to foster sensorial experiences and interaction between object and perceiver. The selection on view traces this pivotal moment in the artist’s multifaceted practice, from early investigations of destabilizing the geometric form and the picture plane to dynamic spatial environments that envelop the viewer.
Hélio Oiticica was a groundbreaking visual artist and theorist whose diverse practice spanned sculpture, drawing, painting, installation, and performance. His expansive body of work laid the foundations for participatory art, offering radical insights into abstraction through the lens of social, political, and economic conditions in Latin America and beyond. As a central figure in Brazil’s Neoconcrete movement and a co-founder of the Tropicália movement, Oiticica’s innovative approach emphasized the importance of spatial awareness and embodied interaction. At Dia Beacon, rare works on canvas from the artist’s Metaesquemas (Meta-Schemes, 1958–59) and Relevos Espaciais (Spatial Reliefs, 1959) series are on display alongside the large-scale Grande Núcleo (Grand Nucleus) (1960–66), which stands out as one of Oiticica’s most engaging environments. Breaking with the two-dimensional boundaries of his earlier works, Grande Núcleo was created as a complex structure of hanging rectangular panels, painted in a vibrant spectrum from bright yellow to deep orange, and arranged in a dynamic grid of varying angles and heights. Across the exhibition, the viewer’s corporeal presence, movement, and perception of time and space are activated, underscoring Oiticica’s evolving exploration of structure, color, and spatial engagement.
Hélio Oiticica is curated by Humberto Moro, deputy director of program, with Ella den Elzen, curatorial assistant.
Dia Beacon