Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica worked as a painter, sculptor, and documentary filmmaker. A member of the Neo-Concrete movement, formed by artists who shared a commitment to reincorporating poetry and meaning into artwork, Oiticica used primary colors and elementary shapes to create geometric artworks and architectural sculptures. He also created large-scale environments for viewers to enter into and interact with, allowing visitors to become part of the work. Relevo espacial (amarelo) (Spatial relief [yellow]), 1960, in Glenstone’s collection, is painted a vivid yellow and hung from the ceiling as a floating shape. Like Oiticica’s larger environments, this piece draws viewers close to and around it, creating a dialogue where person, object, and environment form a special, even symbiotic, relationship.

–Samantha Halstead Santez, from the Glenstone Field Guide