Hélio Oiticica

A concise introduction to the pioneering formal and social innovations of the Neoconcretist and Tropicália protagonist

Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica’s (1937–80) oeuvre remains an indisputable influence on all aspects of avant-garde culture in his home country and abroad, from visual art to music, theater, literature and beyond. This volume demonstrates the numerous ways in which Oiticica’s work explored and expanded formal artistic modes, pushing past the boundaries of color and structure. Oiticica prioritized the inclusive and participatory possibilities of art, represented through his forays into environmental art and interactive installation. Large-scale projects such as his monumental installation Tropicália (1966–67), which satirizes the idea of Brazil as a tropical paradise, are documented alongside his works on paper and textile pieces. The text traces the evolution of Oiticica’s multidisciplinary practice and underlines the cosmological ideas that guided his approach to art and life, demonstrating the profound impact Oiticica's ideas had on the wider art world, both past and present.