Metaesquema # 242

This work belongs to a series of Metaesquemas (meta-schemes) that Hélio Oiticica made between 1957 and 1958. Characterized by flat geometric shapes of saturated color, these gouaches on cardboard explore the undefined territory between painting and drawing. Following the principles of the grid, the highly organized abstract compositions fold, flip, reverse, and transpose the same geometric forms to create dynamic configurations that emphasize the flatness of the surface while also suggesting optical effects that anticipate Oiticica’s Neoconcrete work from the early 1960s. Unlike most of the works in the series, which usually consist of one color, Metaesquema #242 is painted with two colors, black and white. Oiticica applied the paint very smoothly, with no clearly visible strokes, emulating the mechanical application of paint. He arranged a sequence of parallel shapes like skewed columns, their width diminishing as they approach the center of the composition, only to widen again as they progress to the other end, leaving slits of white in between. It exemplifies Oiticica’s early works as a member of the artist collective Grupo Frente, which developed an abstract vocabulary with the shared ambition of ending the figurative tradition in Brazilian art.