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Vermelho cortando o branco

© César and Claudio Oiticica

Vermelho cortando o branco
Vermelho cortando o branco
ArtistBrazilian, 1937–1980
CultureBrazilian
Titles
  • Vermelho cortando o branco
  • Red Going through White
Date1958
PlaceBrazil, South America
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions20 1/8 × 23 5/8 in. (51.1 × 59.9 cm)
Credit LineThe Adolpho Leirner Collection of Brazilian Constructive Art, museum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment
Object number2007.20
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 205
On view

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Object Type
Description

As a member of the Grupo Frente (1954–56) and later the Neo-Concrete movement (1959–61), Hélio Oiticica explored ephemeral materials, multi-sensorial art, and spectator participation. ,“Vermelho cortando o branco” is part of,“Metaesquemas” (1957–58), a series of grid-based compositions in which the artist virtually dissolves the two-dimensional plane and its surrounding frame. The series comprises more than 350 works and owes its name to the combination of the Portuguese words meta (beyond vision) and esquema (structure).




Oiticica considered “Metaesquemas” as something in between painting and drawing, or an evolution of painting beyond representation. The series involves an “obsessive dissection of space” by means of color, reduced to the horizontal and vertical play of monochromatic rectangles and squares that constantly defy the picture plane. The “Metaesquemas” depend on a “mirror effect”—that is, the inverted repetition of geometric configurations that plays with the eye of the beholder creating a highly dynamic perceptual field, which introduces ambivalence and disruption into the plane.



The Adolpho Leirner Collection of Brazilian Constructive Art





Related ICAA documents:



Gilberto de Abreu,“Oiticica longe do Guggenheim causa briga entre museus,” 1994 (record ID 1232944)



Guy Brett, "Helio Oiticica Retrospective at the Whitechapel Gallery," 1969 (record ID 1110627)



Guy Brett, "Un salto radical," 1990 (record ID 808389)



Antônio Dias, "Declaração de princípios básicos de vanguarda," 1978 (record ID 1110371)



Celso Fernando Favaretto, "A organização do delírop," 1992 (record ID 1111408)



Ferreira Gullar, "Cor e estrutura-cor," 1960 (record ID 1091219)



Ferreira Gullar, "I Exposoção Nacional de Arte Concreta: 2," 1957 (record ID 1090217



Waldo Rasmussen, [Letter to Adolpho and Fulvia Leirner], 1993 (record ID 1232906)



Hélio Oiticica, "Aparacumento do suprasensorial na arte brasileira," 1968 (record ID 1110620)



Hélio Oiticica, "Apocalipopótese," 1969 (record ID 1110682)





Exhibition History



Latinamerikansk konst: Jord och Frihet 1830 - 1970. Nationalmuseum, Moderna Museet. Stockholm, Sweden. September-November 1989.



Arte en Iberoamérica 1820-1980. Palacio de Velázquez. Madrid, Spain. December 1989-March 1990.



Art in Latin America: The Modern Era, 1820-1980. Hayward Gallery. London, England. May-August 1989.



Artistas Latinoamericanos del siglo XX. Estación Plaza de Armas. Seville, Spain. August-October 1992.



Art d’Amérique latine 1911-1968. Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, France. November 1992-January 1993.



Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century. The Museum of Modern Art. New York, NY. June-September 1993.



Lateinamerikanische Kunst. Museum Ludwig. Cologne, Germany. February-April 1993.



Arte construtiva no Brasil: Coleção Adolpho Leirner. Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. São Paulo, Brazil. October-December 1998.



Arte construtiva no Brasil: Coleção Adolpho Leirner. Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. January-March 1999.



Mostra do redescobrimento: arte contemporânea - Brasil 500 anos artes visuais. Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, Parque Ibirapuera. São Paulo, Brazil. April-September 2000.



Século 20: arte do Brasil. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. Lisbon, Portugal. October 2000-January 2001.



Heterotopías: medio siglo sin-lugar: 1918-1968. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Madrid, Spain. December 2000-February 2001.



Inverted Utopias: The Avant Gard in Latin America 1920-1970. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Houston, TX. June-September 2004.



Hélio Oiticica: The Body of Color. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Houston, TX. December 2006-April 2007.



Dimensions of Constructive Art in Brazil: The Adolpho Leirner Collection. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Houston, TX. May-September 2007.



Construyendo el Vacío: Arte Moderno de la Colección del Museum of Fine Arts de Houston. Museo de Arte Moderno. Mexico City, México. December 2007-March 2008.





Published References




Books/catalogues



Ades, Dawn, Guy Brett, Stanton L. Catlin, and Rosemary O'Neill. 1989. Art" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=3991">Art">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=3991">Art in Latin America: the modern era, 1820-1980. New Haven: Yale University Press: 267.



-----. 1989. Jord" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=3919">Jord">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=3919">Jord och frihet: Latinamerikansk konst 1830-1970 : Nationalmuseum, Moderna museet, Stockholm, 16 september-19 november 1989. Stockholm: Statens konstmuseer: 267.



-----. 1989. Arte" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194281">Arte">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194281">Arte en Iberoamérica, 1820-1980: Palacio de Velázquez, 14 de diciembre de 1989-4 de marzo de 1990. [Madrid]: Turner: 267.



Aguilar, Nelson. 2000. Brasil" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=102592">Brasil">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=102592">Brasil +500Rio: Mostra do Redescobrimento. São Paulo: Associação Brasil+500.



-----. 2000. Mostra" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=102592">Mostra">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=102592">Mostra do Redescobrimento: arte contemporanea. São Paulo: Fundação Bienal de Sao Paulo: 56.



Amaral, Aracy A. 1998. Arte" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=88219">Arte">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=88219">Arte construtiva no Brasil: coleção Adolpho Leirner. São Paulo: DBAM: 6, 171.



-----. 1977. Projeto" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=196633">Projeto">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=196633">Projeto construtivo brasileiro na arte (1950-1962). Rio de Janeiro: Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro: 265.



Brito, Ronaldo. 1985. Neoconcretismo" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194403">Neoconcretismo">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194403">Neoconcretismo: vértice e ruptura do projeto construtivo brasileiro. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: FUNARTE/Instituto Nacional de Artes Plásticas: 69.



Casanegra, Mercedes. 2000. Pintura" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=69476">Pintura">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=69476">Pintura del Mercosur: una selección del período 1950-1980. Buenos Aires, Argentina:
Ediciones Banco Velox: 263.



Dhaenens, Laurens, Laura Malosetti Costa, and John Everaert. 2015. Arte desde América Latina: moderno y
Contemporáneo. Tielt: Lannoo: 122.



Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro. 1999. Arte" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=136029">Arte">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=136029">Arte construtiva no Brasil: coleção Adolpho Leirner. Rio de Janeiro:
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro: 17.



Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. 1998. Arte" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=88219">Arte">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=88219">Arte construtiva no Brasil: coleção Adolpho Leirner; Museu de Arte
Moderna de São Paulo 2 de octubro a 20 de dezembro de 1998. [São Paulo]: MAM: 17.



Perazzo, Nelly, and Edward J. Sullivan. 1998. Esteban" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194269">Esteban">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194269">Esteban Lisa (1895-1983). Montevideo, Uruguay: Museo Torres-García:
11.



Ramírez, Mari Carmen, and Adolpho Leirner. 2007. Dimensions" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=115179">Dimensions">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=115179">Dimensions of constructive art in Brazil: the Adolpho Leirner
Collection. [Houston, Tex.]: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.



Ramírez, Mari Carmen, and Héctor Olea. 2000. Heterotopías" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=49979">Heterotopías">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=49979">Heterotopías: medio siglo sin-lugar, 1918-1968. [Madrid]: Museo
Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía: 273.



-----. 2004. Inverted" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=90509">Inverted">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=90509">Inverted utopias: avant-garde art in Latin America. New Haven: Yale University Press: 178.



Ramírez, Mari Carmen, Luciano Figueiredo, and Hélio Oiticica. 2007. Hélio" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=113519">Hélio">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=113519">Hélio Oiticica - the body of colour. London: Tate
Publ.: 168.



Rasmussen, Waldo. 1992. Art" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194303">Art">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194303">Art d'Amérique latine, 1911-1968. Paris: Musée national d'art moderne Centre Georges
Pompidou: 364.




-----. 1993. Lateinamerikanische" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194305">Lateinamerikanische">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=194305">Lateinamerikanische Kunst. Cologne,Germany. Museum Ludwig: 173.



Storr, Robert. 2012. Jac Leirner: hardware seda - hardware silk. New Haven, Conn: Yale School of Art: 27.





Newspapers/magazines



"A Paixão Concreta Do Colecionador." Época, September 7, 1998: 92.




Arte" _djrealurl="http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=196802">Arte">http://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=196802">Arte & Matemática. TV CULTURA. São Paulo: Fundação Padre Anchieta, 2001. Videofonograma.




Cavalcanti, Lauro. "Spécial Brésil Avec Niemeyer." Connaissance Des Arts, March 20, 2005: 116.




Coelho, Teixeira. “22 e o Final (Feliz) da Arte Brasileira.” O Estado De S. Paulo (São Paulo), February 11, 2012: S8.




Ditchun, Ricardo. "MAM Encerra Grande Mostra De Concretistas." Diário Do Grande ABC (Santo André, SP), December
20, 1998: 2.



Filho, Antonio Gonçalves. "Manifesto sobre arte neoconcreta faz meio seculo." O Estado De S. Paulo (São Paulo),
January 18, 2009: D8.



Folha de S. Paulo (São Paulo), November 6, 1998: 10.




Folha de S. Paulo (São Paulo), October 2, 1998: 15.




Hirszman, Maria. "Livro e Exposição Homenageiam o Construtivismo." O Estado De S. Paulo (São Paulo), September
1, 1998.




-----. "O Melhor da Arte Concreta do Brasil." O Estado De S. Paulo (São Paulo), September 9, 1998.



Lubow, Arthur. The New York Times Magazine, March 23, 2008: 60. 
Machado, Álvaro. “Arte moderna das Américas ganha mostra internacional.” Folha De S. Paulo (São Paulo), August 10,
1992: 8.




-----. “MAM recebe ícones da arte construtiva.” Guia da Folha, October 2, 1998: 77.



“MAM expõe raridades do construtivismo brasileiro.” Jornal da Tarde, October 3, 1998: 10C.
Moraes, Angélica de. “Proximidade entre arte índigena e contemporânea.” O Estado de S. Paulo (São Paulo),  May
7, 2000: D10.



Osório, Luiz Camillo. "Páginas Construtivistas." O Globo (Rio De Janeiro), November 14, 1998: 6.
Pedreira, Claudia. "Livro Discute o Movimento Construtivista no Brasil." Correio Da Bahia (Salvador), October 5, 1998:
6.



Perpétuo, Grace. “Tradição abstrata brasileira.” Jornal de Brasília, September 13, 1998: 8. 
Rocha, Janaina. “Concretos: A vanguard continua.” Bienart, 2005: 14.
Simões, Alessandra. "A Geometria da Industrialização." Gazeta Mercantil (Rio De Janeiro), October 9, 1998: 14.
 



ProvenanceThe artist; [...]; Adolpho Leirner, São Paulo; sold to MFAH, 2007.
Exhibition History"Art in Latin America: The Modern Era, 1820-1980," Hayward Gallery, London, May–August, 1989; "Latinamerikansk konst: Jord och Frihet 1830 - 1970," Nationalmuseum, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, September–November, 1989; "Arte en Iberoamérica 1820-1980," Palacio de Velázquez, Madrid, December, 1989–March, 1990; "Artistas Latinoamericanos del siglo XX," Estación Plaza de Armas, Seville, August–October, 1992; "Art d’Amérique latine 1911-1968," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, November 1992-January 1993; "Lateinamerikanische Kunst," Museum Ludwig, Cologne, February–April, 1993; "Latin American Artists of the Twentieth Century," Museum of Modern Art, New York, June–September, 1993.

"Arte construtiva no Brasil: Coleção Adolpho Leirner," Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, October–December, 1998; Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, January–March, 1999.

"Mostra do redescobrimento: arte contemporânea - Brasil 500 anos artes visuais," Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, April–September, 2000.

"Século 20: arte do Brasil," Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, October, 2000–January, 2001.

"Heterotopías: medio siglo sin-lugar: 1918-1968," Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, December, 2000–February, 2001.

"BRASIL: Body and Soul," Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, October 19, 2001–May 29, 2002.

"Inverted Utopias: The Avant-Garde in Latin America, 1920–1970," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 20–September 12, 2004.

"Hélio Oiticica: The Body of Color," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December, 2006–April, 2007.

"Dimensions of Constructive Art in Brazil: The Adolpho Leirner Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 20–September 23, 2007.

"Modern Art from the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston," Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, December 12, 2007–April 6, 2008.

"North Looks South: Building the Latin American Art Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 7–September 27, 2009.

"Adolpho Leirner Collection of Brazilian Constructive Art," Haus Konstruktiv, Zürich, November 12, 2009–February 21, 2010.

"Constructed Dialogues: Concrete, Geometric, and Kinetic Art from the Latin American Art Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 16, 2012–January 6, 2013.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Marked in blue on canvas, verso: "HÉLIO OITICICA / "Branco cortando o vermelho" / 1958 / Óleo sobre tela / [signature]"
Signed in blue on canvas, verso: "Helio Oiticica"
Labels and tags on verso:

Printed label: "FULVIA E ADOLPHO LEIRNER / Rua Bahia 204 [?] / (011) 666291 660763 / CEP. 01244 São Paulo SP / Brasil"

Yellow printed label at UL with typed specific information:
"Exhibition: Latin American Artists of / the Twentieth Century / Artist: HÉLIO OITICICA / Title/Date: Metaschema - White / Crossing Red. 1958. / Medium: Oil on canvas / Museum No.: 92.649 / Box No.: BR43 / The Museum of Modern Art / 11 West 53 Street, New York, New York 10019"

Yellow printed label at LL with typed specific information:
"Arts Council / South Bank Centre / Hayward Gallery London SE1 BXZ 01 928 3144 / exhibition Art in Latin America 18 May - 6 August 1989 / cat no. 12.33/12.33 / artist Hélio Oiticica, Brazil / title White Crossing Red - Metaschema [?] / 1958 / Owner Collection Fulvia and Adolpho Leirner, São Paulo"

White printed label at lower center with typed specific information:
"MODERNA MUSEET STOCKHOLM / Konstnär: Helio Oiticica / Titel, är: White crossing red / Ägare: private collection, / Sao Paulo, Brasilien / Kat nr: 92"

White label with red printed text and typed specific information:
"Centre Georges Pompidou / EXPO: ART D'AMERIQUE LATINE 1911 - 1968 /
AUTEUR: HELIO OITICICA / TITRE: WHITE CROSSING RED METASCHEMA, 1958, / PRÊTEUR: LEIRNER ADOLPHO / 01244 SAO PAULO (BRESIL) "

White typed label:
"69 Hélio Oiticica / Vermelho Cortando o Branco, / 1958 / Óleo s/ tela, 52 x 60 cm"

String tag with marks in blue ink: "SACILOTTO / BRASIL: Body and / soul / 5276/PI/CO / ADOLPHO LEIRNER"

String tag with typed text: "69 Hélio Oiticica / Vermelho Cortando o Branco, 1958 / Óleo s/ tela, 52 x 60 cm / mam - Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo / exposição: Arte Construtiva Brasileira: Coleção Adolpho Leirner / de 1 de Outubro a 20 de Dezembro de 1998"

White printed label with typed specific information:
"grifo GALERIA DE ARTE / Alam[?]ia Jau, Telefones: 883-2999 • 852-3309 • São Paulo • SP / ARTISTA HELIO OITICICA / TÉCNICA óleo sobre tela OBS. Procedencia / col. Marcos / Marcondes / DIMENSÕES 0,51x0,60cm. / 1958 [?] o datado no / verso / No 2870" with signature in blue ink and impressed stamp

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Relevo espacial
Hélio Oiticica
c. 1960
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2005.1023
Metaesquema 12
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Gouache on cardboard
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Branco/preto
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1959
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1960
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1976
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2003
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