Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium

Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA) presents Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium, the most complete presentation to date of this important Brazilian artist, and the first comprehensive treatment of his New York years (1971–1978). The show at Carnegie Museum will be open from October 1, 2016 until January 2, 2017. Co-organized by CMOA, The Art Institute of Chicago and The Whitney Museum of American Art, Hélio Oiticica is also the first large Oiticica exhibition to travel to these cities. Lynn Zelevansky, CMOA director and co-curator of the exhibition said, "Oiticica's work was hugely influential on artists of his generation and beyond. Despite having spent seven years in New York, he is under-known in the US. Our project really aims to reintroduce him to an American audience." One of the most significant artists of the 20th century, Oiticica (1937–1980) first painted compositions made of geometric shapes that seemed to dance off the painted surface. He soon moved into creating immersive, experiential works, exploding color into three dimensions. His art intertwined with rock music, popular culture, politics and communities. Hélio Oiticica: To Organize Delirium is also the first major US exhibition after a tragic 2009 fire at the Projeto Hélio Oiticica in Rio de Janeiro destroyed a substantial body of art and archival material. Seven years on, a team of curators in collaboration with the Projeto, have assembled a new body of research on this pioneering artist to share with a new generation of US museum-goers, staging large-scale installations including Tropicalia, Eden, Rijanviera, and Filtro, alongside dozens of original works. A richly-illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition, containing 320 pages with 310 color illustrations and contributions by Martha Scott Burton, Fred Coelho, Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz, Sérgio Martins, Adele Nelson, Irene V. Small, and Guilherme Wisnik Tour Schedule Carnegie Museum of Art, October 1, 2016–January 2, 2017 The Art Institute, Chicago, February 19, 2017–May 7, 2017 Whitney Museum of American Art, July 14, 2017–October 1, 2017