Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium
July 14–Oct 1, 2017
Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium is the first full-scale U.S. retrospective in two decades of the Brazilian artist’s work. One of the most original artists of the twentieth century, Oiticica (1937—1980) made art that awakens us to our bodies, our senses, our feelings about being in the world: art that challenges us to assume a more active role. Beginning with geometric investigations in painting and drawing, Oiticica soon shifted to sculpture, architectural installations, writing, film, and large-scale environments of an increasingly immersive nature, works that transformed the viewer from a spectator into an active participant. The exhibition includes some of his large-scale installations, including Tropicalia and Eden, and examines the artist’s involvement with music and literature, as well as his response to politics and the social environment. The show captures the excitement, complexity, and activist nature of Oiticica’s art, focusing in particular on the decisive period he spent in New York in the 1970s, where he was stimulated by the art, music, poetry, and theater scenes. While Oiticica engaged at first with many of the city’s artists, he ended up living in self-fashioned isolation before returning to Brazil. He died in Rio de Janeiro, in 1980, at the age of 42.
This exhibition is organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium is curated by Lynn Zelevansky, Henry J. Heinz II Director, Carnegie Museum of Art; Elisabeth Sussman, Curator and Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography, Whitney Museum of American Art; James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director, Art Institute of Chicago; and Donna De Salvo, Deputy Director for International Initiatives and Senior Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art; with Katherine Brodbeck, Associate Curator, Carnegie Museum of Art.
Support for the national tour of this exhibition is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In New York, major support is provided by the Whitney’s National Committee.
Generous support is provided by Art&Art Collection, Tony Bechara, the Garcia Family Foundation, and the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation.
Additional support is provided by the Evelyn Toll Family Foundation.
Generous endowment support is provided by The Keith Haring Foundation Exhibition Fund.
Artworks
Hélio Oiticica, Metaesquema 362, 1958. Gouache on paper, 19 1/2 x 26 1/4 in. (49.53 x 66.67 cm). Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Edward N. Haskell Family Acquisition Fund and A. W. Mellon Acquisition Endowment Fund
Hélio Oiticica, Metaesquema, Malekledrian, 1958. Gouache on cardboard, 9 3/4 x 6 1/4 in. (24.76 x 15.88 cm). The Ortiz Family. Photograph by Joseph Hu
Hélio Oiticica, Metaesquema 4066, 1958. Gouache on cardboard, 21 x 22 7/8 in. (53.3 x 58.1 cm). Museum of Modern Art, New York; Gift of the Oiticica family. © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
Hélio Oiticica, P58 Spatial Relief, Red (P58 Relevo espacial, vermêlho), 1960. Polyvinyl acetate resin on plywood, 24 5/8 x 58 1/4 x 6 in. (62.50 x 148 x 15.30 cm). Tate, London; purchase with assistance from the American Fund for the Tate Gallery, Tate Members, Tate International Council and the Art Fund, 2008. © Tate, London
Hélio Oiticica, B11 Box Bólide 9 (B11 Bólide caixa 9) at Rua Engenheiro Alfredo Duarte, Rio de Janeiro , 1964. Oil with polyvinyl acetate emulsion on wood and glass, pigment, 19 5/8 x 19 11/16 x 13 3/8 in. (49.8 x 50 x 34 cm). Tate, London; purchased with assistance from the American Fund for the Tate Gallery, Tate Members and the Art Fund, 1970. Photograph by Desdémone Bardin
Hélio Oiticica, P15 Parangolé Cape 11, I Embody Revolt (P15 Parangolé Capa 12, Eu Incorporo a Revolta) worn by Nildo of Mangueira, 1967. © César and Claudio Oiticica. Courtesy César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro. Photograph by Claudio Oiticica
Hélio Oiticica, Eden, 1969 (installation view, Whitechapel Gallery, London, 1969). Sand, crushed bricks, dry leaves, water, cushions, foam flakes, books, magazines, “pulp fiction”, straw, matting, and incense, 68.9 x 49.21 x 11.48 in. (21 x 15 x 3.5 cm). César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro. © César and Claudio Oiticica
Hélio Oiticica (1937–1980), installation view of Eden (1969) at Whitechapel Gallery, London, 1969. Sand, crushed bricks, dry leaves, water, cushions, foam flakes, books, magazines, “pulp fiction,” straw, matting, and incense, 68 ft. 10 3/4 in. x 49 ft. 2 1/2 in. x 11 ft. 5 3/4 in. (21 x 15 x 3.5 m). Collection of César and Claudio Oiticica. © César and Claudio Oiticica
Miguel Rio Branco, Babylonests, 1971. Digital projection, dimensions variable. Courtesy of César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro.
Miguel Rio Branco, Babylonests, 1971. Digital projection, dimensions variable. Courtesy of César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro
Hélio Oiticica in front of a poster for Neil Simon’s play The Prisoner of Second Avenue, in Midtown Manhattan, 1972. © César and Claudio Oiticica
Hélio Oiticica, P31 Parangolé Cape 24, Escrerbuto (P31 Parangolé Capa 24, Escrerbuto) worn by Omar Salomão, 1972. Nylon mesh fabric and plastic vinyl, 38 ½ x 33 in. (97.79 x 84.58 cm). Courtesy of the Ortiz Family. © César and Claudio Oiticica
Parangolé Cape 30 in the New York City Subway, 1972. Digital projection, dimensions variable. Courtesy of César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro
Hélio Oiticica, PN27 Penetrable, Rijanviera, 1979 (installation view Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 2010). Aluminum, plastic, wire, water, sand and gravel; overall plan: 118 1/8 x 196 7/8 in. (3 x 5 m), panels: 102 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. (2.6 x 1 m). César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro. Photograph by Edouard Fraipoint
Hélio Oiticica. Installation view. Tropicália, 1966-67. Plants, sand, birds, poems by Roberta Camila Salgado on bricks, tiles and vinyl squares. Collection of César and Claudio Oiticica. Photograph by Matt Casarella
Playlist
*A free Spotify account is required to listen to this playlist.
The musical style of Tropicália, which takes its name from Oiticica’s eponymous 1966-67 installation, became a larger artistic and socio-cultural movement in Brazil. After a military coup in 1964, popular music played an integral role in the aesthetic and cultural resistance to the political climate. Music continued to play an important role in Oiticica’s work into his New York years, where he attended rock concerts at the Fillmore East. This playlist is inspired by Tropicália musicians such as Caetano Veloso and GiIberto Gil, as well was the rock and roll musicians like Jimi Hendrix from whom Oiticica took inspiration in the 1970s.
Audio Guides
Hélio Oiticica. Installation view. Tropicália, 1966-67. Plants, sand, birds, poems by Roberta Camila Salgado on bricks, tiles and vinyl squares. Collection of César and Claudio Oiticica. Photograph by Matt Casarella
Hear directly from artists and curators on selected works from the exhibition.
Installation Photography
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right: PN1 Penetrable (PN1 Penetrável), 1960; P34 White Painting (P34 Série branca), 1959. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right: PN1 Penetrable (PN1 Penetrável), 1960; P34 White Painting (P34 Série branca), 1959; Untitled, ca. 1960; NC1 Small Nucleus 1 (NC1 Núcleo pequeno 1), 1960. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right: Metaesquema, c. 1958; Metasquema 362, 1958; PN1 Penetrable (PN1 Penetrável), 1960; P52 Spatial Relief (P52 Relevo espacial), 1960; Metasquema, 1957; NC6 Medium Nucleus 3 (NC6 Núcleo médio 3), 1961-63; P41 Bilateral, Teman (P41 Bilateral, Teman), 1959; Metasquema, 1956; Aqua, ca. 1968; White Painting (Série branca), 1959; P21 White Painting, Tantrum (P21 Série branca, Tantrum), 1959. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right, top to bottom: P41 Bilateral, Teman (P41 Bilateral, Teman), 1959; Grupo Frente, ca. 1955; Grupo Frente 136, 1956; Grupo Frente 73, 1955-56; P52 Spatial Relief (P52 Relevo espacial), 1960; Grupo Frente, ca. 1955; P31 Parangolé Cape 24, Escrerbuto, 1972; B16 Box Bólide 12, Archaeological (B16 Bólide caixa 12, Arqueológico), 1964-65; P20 Parangolé Cape 16, Guevarcália (P20 Parangolé capa 16, Guevarcália), 1968; B33 Box Bólide 18, Homage to Cara de Cavalo (B33 Bólide caixa 18 Homenagem á Cara de Cavalo), 1965-66; P2 Parangolé Flag 1 (P2 Parangolé bandeira 1), 1964; P58 Spatial Relief, Red (P58 Relevo espacial vermêlho), 1960; NC6 Medium Nucleus 3 (NC6 Núcleo médio 3), 1961-63; NC1 Small Nucleus 1 (NC1 Núcleo pequeno 1), 1960. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right, top to bottom: P41 Bilateral, Teman (P41 Bilateral, Teman), 1959; P52 Spatial Relief (P52 Relevo espacial), 1960; Grupo Frente, ca. 1955; Grupo Frente, ca. 1955; Grupo Frente 136, 1956; Grupo Frente 73, 1955-56; Grupo Frente, ca. 1955; P31 Parangolé Cape 24, Escrerbuto, 1972; B16 Box Bólide 12, Archaeological (B16 Bólide caixa 12, Arqueológico), 1964-65; P20 Parangolé Cape 16, Guevarcália (P20 Parangolé capa 16, Guevarcália), 1968; B33 Box Bólide 18, Homage to Cara de Cavalo (B33 Bólide caixa 18 Homenagem á Cara de Cavalo), 1965-66; NC6 Medium Nucleus 3 (NC6 Núcleo médio 3), 1961-63; P34 White Painting (P34 Série branca), 1959. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right, top to bottom: Metaesquema 362, 1958; P58 Spatial Relief, Red (P58 Relevo espacial, vermêlho), 1960; P52 Spatial Relief (P52 Relevo espacial), 1960; Metaesquema, c. 1956; Metaesquema, 1957; Metaesquema, 1959; Metaesquema, c. 1956; Sêco 10, 1956; Metaesquema, c. 1956; Grupo Frente, ca. 1955; Grupo Frente 136, 1956; Grupo Frente 73, 1955-56; Grupo Frente, ca. 1955. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right, top to bottom: P31 Parangolé Cape 24, Escrerbuto, 1972; B16 Box Bólide 12, Archaeological (B16 Bólide caixa 12, Arqueológico), 1964-65; P20 Parangolé Cape 16, Guevarcália (P20 Parangolé capa 16, Guevarcália), 1968; P2 Parangolé Flag 1 (P2 Parangolé bandeira 1), 1964; B33 Box Bólide 18, Homage to Cara de Cavalo (B33 Bólide caixa 18 Homenagem á Cara de Cavalo), 1965-66; Seja marginal, seja herói (be an outlaw, be a hero), 1968; B11 Box Bólide (B11 Bólide caixa 9), 1964. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right, top to bottom: P11 Parangolé Cape 7, Sex and Violence, That’s What I Like (P11 Parangolé capa 7, sexo e violência, é isso que me agrada), 1966; B16 Box Bólide 12, Archaeological (B16 Bólide caixa 12, Arqueológico), 1964-65; P31 Parangolé Cape 24, Escrerbuto, 1972; P20 Parangolé Cape 16, Guevarcália (P20 Parangolé capa 16, Guevarcália), 1968; B33 Box Bólide 18, Homage to Cara de Cavalo (B33 Bólide caixa 18 Homenagem á Cara de Cavalo), 1965-66; P2 Parangolé Flag 1 (P2 Parangolé bandeira 1), 1964. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right: Parangolés, 1972; Mario Montex during takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; Mario Montez during takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; Mario Montez & Antonio Dias, Still of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; During Takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, Cristiny, Mario Montez, Antonio Dias, 1972; Mario Montez with Crisiny during takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; Agrippina é Roma-Manhattan (Agrippina is Rome-Manhattan), 1972; Nests, 1969-74. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right: Parangolés, 1972; Mario Montex during takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; Mario Montez during takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; Mario Montez & Antonio Dias, Still of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; During Takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, Cristiny, Mario Montez, Antonio Dias, 1972; Mario Montez with Crisiny during takes of Agripina E Roma-Manhattan, 1972; Agrippina é Roma-Manhattan (Agrippina is Rome-Manhattan), 1972. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, July 14–October 1, 2017). From left to right: Nests, 1969-74; Topázion-flor dedicated to Haroldo de Campos, March 20, 1975. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Hélio Oiticica. Installation view. Cosmococa 1: CC1 Trashiscapes (collaboration with Neville D’Almeida), 1973/2003. Forty-one 35mm slides transferred to digital slideshow, sound, mattresses, pillows, and nail files. Courtesy Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Hélio Oiticica. Installation view. Appropriation—Snooker Room, after Van Gogh’s “Night Café” (Apropriação—Mesa de bilhar, d’aprés “O Café Noturno” de Van Gogh), 1966. Installation with billard table, wall rack and accessories. Exhibition copy from the César and Claudio Oiticica Collection, Rio de Janeiro. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Exhibition Catalogue
Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium catalogue
The most comprehensive study to date of Hélio Oiticica, one of the world’s foremost practitioners of neo-concretism, who is internationally recognized for his innovative and participatory work. In his ingeniously constructed works, Hélio Oiticica revolutionized the idea of interactive art. Accompanying the first full US retrospective of the Brazilian artist in over two decades, and the first ever to travel the country, this heavily illustrated volume captures the excitement and complexity of Oiticica’s paintings, sculptures, and installations. Insightful essays by US and Latin American writers cover the entirety of his career, with special emphasis on his little-known New York period between 1971 and 1978. Thoroughly exploring Oiticica’s most acclaimed works, such as the Parangolés and his groundbreaking installation Tropicália, this book also examines his involvement with music, literature, and his response to politics and the social environment in Brazil. From his immersion in 1960s counterculture to his life and work in New York City and final return to Rio de Janeiro, this catalog charts the development of an utterly original talent whose work is both wide-ranging and thoroughly engaging.
This publication features vibrant full color photographs and a list of exhibitions, including his 2017 exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Buy nowIn the News
"It’s alive in a way almost no art feels now."
—The New York Times
"One of the most famous figures of Brazil’s mid-century surge of experimental art."
—artnet
"A posthumous retrospective reveals the immersive pleasures of his work."
—The New Yorker
"Not your typical show."
—W Magazine
"Revolutionary Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica gets a retrospective at The Whitney."
—VICE
"A time traveling treat."
—The Village Voice