Major exhibition of works by Hélio Oiticica goes on view at MASP, São Paulo

6 November 2020

Running until 22 November 2020, the major exhibition 'Hélio Oiticica: Dance in My Experience' at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo examines the presence of performative aspects found throughout the artist's various bodies of work – part of a year-long series of exhibitions at MASP, Histories of Dance. The show borrows its title from a text by Oiticica published in 1965, and takes as its starting point one of his later radical and influential works: the Parangolé, or 'habitable painting'. Although dance was not incorporated into the artist’s work until the 1960s, beginning with this key work enables an identification of the rhythmic, choreographic, and performative characteristics in Oiticica's earlier works – from the Metaesquemas paintings in gouache on cardboard, Relevos espaciais (spatial reliefs), or Penetráveis (Penetrables) immersive, architectural environments – influenced by his time spent in the favelas and Samba schools of Rio de Janeiro.

Watch a guided tour of the exhibition with the curator here.

This exhibition coincides with a dual-site presentation of Oiticica's paintings and architectural environments at Lisson Gallery in New York, on view through 23 January 2021.

Read more about 'Hélio Oiticica: Dance in my Experience' via MASP.