Movement Op' Art

The term “Op Art" was first coined in Time Magazine in 1964, to describe Julian Stanczak's exhibition Optical Paintings at the Martha Jackson Gallery. The article defined this new genre as a "new movement of optical art that has appeared in the Western world and which plays and abuses the fallibility of vision." “Op Art" describes all types of art based on optical illusions or visual tricks. Op artists distort viewers' vision by producing images that appear to move, are hidden, flash or vibrate. To do this, artists create visual effects through pattern and line to establish a juxtaposition between the foreground and background, resulting in a contradictory perceptual experience.

It wasn't long before Op Art was commercialised; designers, illustrators and advertisers adopted this unique style to create posters, furniture, record and book covers. Throughout the 1960s, shops were filled with Op-Art-inspired clothing, and interiors were adorned with Vasarely-style wallpaper. This merging of Op Art and popular culture arguably discredited the movement, reducing it to a passing fashion and design phase. However, today the movement is increasingly being appreciated for its contribution to fine art, and the Centre Pompidou even dedicated a major retrospective to Victor Vasarely in 2019. Galleries are filling their walls with hypnotising optical illusions, and are beginning to appreciate the complicated yet beautiful artworks of the Op Art movement.

Victor Vasarely

Vasarely is representative of the Space Age: a time where by the year 2000 many thought we would be wearing astronaut suits and loading up the space ship for the school run.

His use of geometric patterns, opposing colour and complicated perceptions test the limits of our vision, and established his position as an artist in the contemporary art world. In his famous series, Vega, Vasarely depicts the depths of space, the magnitude of planets and the momentousness of galaxies through an intricate composition of line and shape. His works are emblematic of possibility; influencing not only fellow artists but also popular culture as a whole.

Bridget Riley

Heavily influenced by George Seurat, Riley developed her distinctive style in the 1950s. Riley quickly established herself on the art scene and in 1964, her work, Currrent, featured in The Exponsive Eye exhibition organised by MoMA. Although her geometric black and white canvases were reminiscent of Vasarely's works, she was considered one of the leading figures in Op Art.

Maybe your parents or grandparents claim Op Art is no longer relevant, since they've certainly had their fill of psychedelic swirls and mind-altering patterns. However, here at Artsper, we're keen to reintroduce hallucinatory artworks into your life, so rediscover Vasarely and the best Op-Art-inspired contemporary artists we have to offer!

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Movement Op' Art

Open Sea

Playing card 2F - Flying spheres

Allegory

Fortune favours the brave

Sculpture of circle surrounded by spheres

Religion

Je te vois

As dusk approached

Antidote

Great ball of fire

Cosmolounge

Another word is possible

Guia UPS Stamp and USPS Tracking, Diptych. From the series Terms and Conditions

Guia Fedex and DHL. Tracking, Diptych. From the series Terms and Conditions

Clausen and Bavaria. Stamp, Diptych. From the series Terms and Conditions

300K, 100 obverse left and right. watermelon note diptych

sans titre04

Sans titre

Untitled

Untitled

Set of 3 Stamps. Framed

Set of 3 Abstract Drawing on paper. Framed

Set of 6 drawings. From the series Latin America Artists & Architects

Set of 6 drawings. From the series Artists & Architects

Set of 6 drawings. From the series Latin America Artists & Architects

Set of 6 drawings. From the series Latin America Artists & Architects

Línea Cubos

Línea Bloques

Bloques Huecos 3 Puntos

Isodomo Grilla

Isodomo

Isodomo Bloques

Esfera Transparencia

Picos Tercio. One of a Kind (Framed)

Línea Estructura (Framed)

Plano Bloques. One of a Kind (Framed)

Belga. One of a Kind (Framed)

Línea Aparejo (Framed)

Textura (Framed)

Espejo. One of a Kind (Framed)

Plano Bloques

Regular (Framed)

Bloques

Bloques Desalineado 2 (Framed)

Sans titre 17

Set of 4 Drawings. From the series Terms and Conditions

1M 1 Cent postage due

300K, 100 Obverse right - Watermelon note

300K, 100 Obverse left - Watermelon note

3.3M, 1000 Reverse right - Watermelon grand

29.4M Crypto punk

Guia UPS

Clausen

Bavaria

Sans titre

Chromadynamica #70

Wellenelement Rotation dynamisch

29.4M. crypto punk and 15m ringers diptych

1.0 M (Detective comics), 3.2 M (ACTION COMICS) and 1.2M BAT MAN, Triptych

1.0 M (Detective comics) and 1.2M BAT MAN, Diptych

Prenez un peu de recul

Anverso Derecha 100 Valor Real

Mickey 3D

Prismograph Fascination

Prismograph Night Lights

Polymorph "2 + 3= 4"