With an extensive and consistent production that began in the 1960s, Waltercio Caldas has become one of the most important Brazilian artists today. His work is part of the collections of institutions such as the Centre Pompidou (France), the Museum of Modern Art – MoMA (USA), the MAM – Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the Inhotim Institute, as well as other institutional and private collections around the world. Among the exhibitions in which the artist has participated are the 19th, 20th and 23rd editions of the São Paulo Biennial, the 47th and 52nd editions of the Venice Biennale, Documenta 9 in Kassel, and the 6th Mercosul Biennial.
His career began when he took classes with artist Ivan Serpa at the MAM in Rio de Janeiro in 1965. A few years later, in 1969, Waltercio created his first iconic box-objects, which would outline all the aesthetic research that the artist would undertake from then on. The Conductors of Perception (1969) would be followed by works such as " The 7 Stars of Silence" (1970) and " Center of Primitive Reason" (1970).
From the 1970s onwards, Waltercio Caldas established himself in the Brazilian art scene and became close to critics such as Ronaldo Brito, who wrote his first book, " Aparelhos" , in 1979. He became part of Gilberto Chateaubriand's collection in 1971 and had his first solo exhibition in 1973.
According to Brito, the artist's work approaches art “as an exercise in language and as a game, questioning its meanings”. From the 1980s onwards, Waltercio would base his entire body of work on this proposal, raising questions that still permeate his production today. The artist's work includes sculptures, objects, installations and drawings, as well as editorial, public art and graphic art projects.