Curated by Thomas Mießgang

The recent fire that destroyed much of Hélio Oiticica’s oeuvre portends that even more attention will be given to an already hot area—1960s Brazil—in coming years. Reprising a 2006 survey at the Barbican in London, this show focuses on the generative effect of Oiticica’s 1967 Tropicália environment, which spawned a short-lived but fertile movement across the arts in Rio de Janeiro. As with the earlier effort, Tropicalismo is here conflated with neoconcreto (Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape) and Brazilian conceptualism (Cildo Meireles, Antonio Dias), emphasizing participation and sensory appeal, though the differences between these movements may prove equally compelling. The show brings together roughly seventy pieces, including material from contemporary artists such as Assume Vivid Astro Focus and Ernesto Neto, whose work suggests that today Tropicália is more a national tradition than an avant-garde.

— Daniel Quiles