In 1986, the first posthumous exhibition of Hélio Oiticica (1937 – 1980) was held, organized by the HO Project, which was coordinated at the time by Lygia Pape, Luciano Figueiredo, and Wally Salomão. For this exhibition, titled “O q faço é música” (What I do is music) and held at the Galeria de Arte São Paulo, the project produced unique editions of the iconic works “Relevo Espacial, 1959/1986” and “Parangolé P4 Capa 1, 1964/1986” to raise funds for the organization, cataloging, and conservation of the works and documents left by the artist.
Since then, these works have remained in a private collection. Now, after 37 years, they return to the public as the starting point for the exhibition “O que há de música em você” (What music is in you), which opens on September 12 at Galeria Athena in Rio de Janeiro, curated by Fernanda Lopes.
Iconic to the development of Oiticica’s thought, both works are of great importance – the Parangolé, in fact, was worn by Caetano Veloso at the time of its creation. Building on these pieces, and on Hélio Oiticica’s famous phrase, “O q faço é música,” the exhibition will present a dialogue with photographs, videos, objects, and performances by 20 other modern and contemporary artists, including Alexander Calder, Aluísio Carvão, Andro de Silva, Atelier Sanitário, Ayla Tavares, Celeida Tostes, Ernesto Neto, Felipe Abdala, Felippe Moraes, Flavio de Carvalho, Frederico Filippi, Gustavo Prado, Hélio Oiticica, Hugo Houayek, Leda Catunda, Manuel Messias, Marcelo Cidade, Rafael Alonso, Raquel Versieux, Sonia Andrade, Tunga, and Vanderlei Lopes.
