Untitled

Untitled

Hélio Oiticica

1956

gouache

From the collection of Museum of Modern Art

About this work

This painting is just four flat colors stacked like blocks. The top half is two shades of orange—one bright, one dull—split by a thin black line. Below, the same oranges meet a narrow black rectangle, floating in the middle like a door handle. The artist used gouache, a water-based paint that looks soft and matte here. No brushstrokes or texture break up the clean edges—just flat color and sharp lines. Try looking up gouache to see how it’s different from other paints.

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