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Overview
What is Op Art?
1960sPeriod
Europe and the United StatesBegan in
12Key artists on this page
7Works with free images
6Museums to visit
Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses distorted or manipulated geometrical patterns, often to create optical illusions. It began in the early 20th century, and was especially popular from the 1960s on, the term "Op art" dating to 1964. Op artworks are normally abstract, with some better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images, flashing and vibrating patterns, or swelling or warping. In contrast, the much older trompe-l'œil style always represents figurative subjects, which are shown with deceptive three-dimensionality.From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Original Art Movements text
This is the text that appeared on this page on the original Art Movements site. It is kept for reference; some statements are simplified or out of date. Where it differs from the overview, characteristics and dates above, which are checked against Wikipedia and Wikidata, trust those instead.
Op Art or Optical Art is the term used to describe paintings or sculptures which seem to swell and vibrate through their use of optical effects. The movement’s leading figures were Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely who used patterns and colours in their paintings to achieve a disorientating effect on the viewer.
The sculptors Eric Olsen and Francisco Sobrino used layers of different coloured perspex to create a similar illusion of distortion. The artists used established ideas on perceptive psychology but needed to use maximum precision to gain the results they intended.
Op Art is a form of abstract art and is closely connected to the Kinetic and Constructivist Art movements.
It was fashionable in the United States and Europe in the 1960s and 1970s but was greeted with a certain degree of scepticism by the critics.
After ‘The Responsive Eye’ exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1965 the term became a household name and the style was soon appropriated by fashion designers and high street stores.
Fire and Water Fountain by Yaacov Agam, 1986 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Period
1960s
Began in
Europe and the United States
Key artists
M. C. Escher, Victor Vasarely, Josef Albers, Bridget Riley
Related
Minimalism, Pop Art, Fluxus
How to recognise it
Key characteristics of Op Art
Optical illusions of movement, swelling or flickering
Precise geometric patterns
Strong contrast, often black and white
Mathematical repetition and variation
Interaction between the work and the viewer's eye
Timeline
When was Op Art?
Op Art is usually dated 1960s, beginning in Europe and the United States. Dates for art movements are approximate: artists joined and left, and styles overlapped.
Each bar shows an artist's life; the shaded band is the main period of Op Art.
Josef Albers
M. C. Escher
Victor Vasarely
Carmen Herrera
Edna Andrade
Carlos Cruz-Diez
Julio Le Parc
Richard Anuszkiewicz
Bridget Riley
Jean-Pierre Yvaral
Getulio Alviani
Marina Apollonio
Op Art
1888–1976
1898–1972
1906–1997
1915–2022
1917–2008
1923–2019
1928–2026
1930–2020
born 1931
1934–2002
1939–2018
born 1940
1900192019401960198020002020
Who
Key Op Art artists
Artists linked to Op Art in Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia. Artists marked Art Icons have a full profile on our sister site.
Optical art that uses pattern and colour to make the eye see movement.
When was Op Art?
Op Art: 1960s. It began in Europe and the United States. Dates for art movements are approximate.
What are the main characteristics of Op Art?
Optical illusions of movement, swelling or flickering; Precise geometric patterns; Strong contrast, often black and white; Mathematical repetition and variation; Interaction between the work and the viewer's eye.
Who are the most famous Op Art artists?
M. C. Escher, Victor Vasarely, Josef Albers, Bridget Riley, Richard Anuszkiewicz.
What are some famous Op Art works?
Fire and Water Fountain by Yaacov Agam; Fontaine by Yaacov Agam; Metamorphosis III by M. C. Escher; Structural Constellation – Two Supraportes by Josef Albers; Sea Cloud by Bridget Riley.
Where can I see Op Art art?
Dizengoff Square (Tel Aviv, Israel), parvis de la Défense (Puteaux, France), Westphalian State Museum of Art and Cultural History (Münster, Germany), Walker Art Gallery (Liverpool, United Kingdom), Juan Carlos I Park (Madrid, Spain) hold works shown on this page.
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