The exhibition Hélio Oiticica: Dance in My Experience borrows its title from a 1965 essay by the artist and centers on the Parangolé, one of his most radical works. From this starting point, the show traces rhythmic, choreographic, and performative elements throughout Oiticica’s earlier production–from the Metaesquemas to the Spatial Reliefs, Nuclei, Penetrables, Bólides, and ultimately the Parangolés.

The catalogue’s design interprets key aspects of the artist’s work, such as geometric rigor, materiality, and movement. The texts are arranged in square blocks, positioned on opposing sides of each two-page spread, with alternating empty and filled spaces.

The interior is printed on three types of paper–off-white for essays, coated stock for artworks, and newsprint for graphic interludes–evoking the tactile quality and material diversity present in Oiticica’s practice. The color palette, inspired by the Mangueira samba school, features green and pink across the cover, chapter openings, and other graphic details.

Richly illustrated, this is the most comprehensive publication on the artist to date. It accompanies a major exhibition organized by the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP) in partnership with the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro.

Masp, 2020
Organization: Adriano Pedrosa, Tomás Toledo
Photos: Nino Andrés

Prêmio Jabuti – Cover [finalist, 2021]