Around 1963 Oiticica began work on his series titled Bólides (Fireballs), one of the most distinctive, unique, and inventive sculptural models made in the Americas during the second half of the twentieth century. These works represent one of the three categories of works produced by the artist at the end of his career: Bólides, Penetrables, and Parangolés. The Bólides are structures made of painted wood or glass containing raw pigment, stones, and textiles. The Penetrables are small labyrinths of painted wood that can be entered, or penetrated, by the spectator. The Parangolés, or "capes," are complex and colorful carnivalesque costumes that were meant to be worn or held by the spectator, therefore eliminating the distance between the work and the public. These three series embody a revolutionary conception of artworks as significant vehicles for the human body and as bodies themselves, filled with living, critical, or troubling materials.
Gallery label from New Perspectives in Latin American Art, 1930–2006: Selections from a Decade of Acquisitions, November 21, 2007–February 25, 2008.
Oiticica's Bólides (Fireballs) series, begun around 1963, embodies one of the most distinctive, unique, and inventive notions of sculpture conceived in the Americas in the second half of the twentieth century. The Bólides, structures made of painted wood or glass containing raw pigment, stones, and textiles, make up one category of the artist's late work. He also made Penetrables, small labyrinths of painted wood that can be entered, or penetrated, by the spectator, and Parangolés (Capes), complex and colorful carnivalesque costumes that were meant to be worn or held by the spectator. These three series embody a revolutionary conception of artworks as significant vehicles for the human body and as bodies themselves, filled with living, critical, or troubling materials.
Gallery label from Here Is Every. Four Decades of Contemporary Art, September 10, 2008–March 23, 2009 .
