Helio Oiticica was one of the most creative artists of the twentieth century and played a key role in the development of Latin American art and culture. Since his premature death at the age of forty-three, his influence and importance continues to grow. A key figure in the Tropicalia movement in Brazil that revolutionised popular music and the arts in the 1970s, he fell foul of the military regime and was forced into exile in London and New York, where he forged new alliances and was a key influence to a wide range of artists. Among his most original achievements was the innovative and uncompromising use of colour that was a feature of his entire career, from his early abstract compositions to his later sculptures and large-scale installations. Combining it with rhythm, music and performance, he used colour to stimulate visual and tactile sensations, drawing in and involving his audience. Combining essays by leading critics and extensive illustration, this is the most thorough exploration of Oiticica's art yet published.