Rise of op art

Op art, short for optical art, is a style of abstract art that uses geometric patterns and contrasting colours to create the impression of movement, vibration or hidden images. The term was coined in 1964 in an article in Time magazine, and the movement was introduced to a broad public by the exhibition The Responsive Eye at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1965. Its leading figures included the Hungarian-French artist Victor Vasarely and the British painter Bridget Riley, and it drew on the earlier teaching of Josef Albers. Its designs were quickly adopted by fashion and advertising. Some critics dismissed it as mere trickery, but the works were notable for their precise study of how the eye and brain perceive pattern.

Open on the timeline