Op Art

Op Art, also known as Optical art or geometric / perceptual abstraction, refers to a geometric abstract art that manipulates the viewer's visual response and creates the illusion of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibration, patterns, or alternatively, of swelling or warping. Op painting used a framework of purely geometric forms as the basis for its effects and also drew on color theory and the physiology and psychology of perception. The artists used either black and white as well as the figure-ground relationships, or investigated different effects that full-color relationships and patterns of those colors have on the eye.

The term first appeared in print in Time magazine in October 1964, though works which might now be described as "op art" had been produced for several years previously.
In 1965, an Op Art exhibition called The Responsive Eye was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The exhibition focused on the perceptual aspects of art, which result both from the illusion of movement and the interaction of color relationships. The exhibition was very popular with the general public, though less so with the critics. Critics dismissed Op art as portraying nothing more than trompe l'oeil, or tricks that fool the eye.

Leading figures were Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, and Jesus Raphael Soto. Vasarely was one of the originators of Op art. Soto's work often involves mobile elements and points up the close connection between Kinetic and Op art. Kinetic Art stands for a sculpture that actually moves, often using modern technology to achieve this (unlike Op art which just appears to move).

See the works in the Gallery!