Finding a Place in the World
Aug 28, 2017
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From left to right, panelists Irene Small, Matheus Pitta Rocha, Fred Coelho and Lyle Ashton discuss the enduring legacy of Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica. Photograph by Filip Wolak
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Scholar Fred Coelho presents on Hélio Oiticica’s work during the artist’s time in New York. Photograph by Filip Wolak
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Artist Lyle Ashton Harris discusses his practice in relation to Oiticica’s work. Photograph by Filip Wolak
The Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica experimented widely throughout his lifetime, working in painting, installation, film, and more. His subversive and politically charged art made it difficult to remain in his native country, which was ruled by an oppressive military regime in the 1960s. Fleeing to London in 1969, he wrote that he had “no place in the world.” In the 1970s, he spent eight years in New York City, where his experiments in film and media were productive in developing new directions and methods in his work.