“I’m interested,” Richard Anuszkiewicz (1930–2020) once said, “in making something romantic out of a very, very mechanistic geometry.” Anuszkiewicz sought to achieve this romance through works juxtaposing vibrant colors in geometric configurations. The perceptual effects he created helped define the American Op art movement.
Anuszkiewicz studied color theory at Yale under Josef Albers and was greatly influenced by Albers’s approach. “The image in my work has always been determined by what I wanted the color to do,” Anuszkiewicz explained in a 1974 catalogue. “Color function becomes my subject matter, and its performance is my painting.”
He departed from his mentor, however, in the pulsating, illusory qualities he gave his work. One of his most famous paintings, Deep Magenta Square (1978), although similar in composition to Albers’s “Homage to the Square” series, is distinctly Op art in the way the striations surrounding the central square seem to vibrate and jump off the canvas.
Anuszkiewicz spent his entire career exploring optical effects through the manipulation of line and color, producing spectacular and timeless pieces of art. “Working with basic ideas will always be exciting,” he said in 1977. “And if a color or form is visually exciting in any profound sense, it will be that way in 10 or 20 years from now.”
Browse a variety of paintings and prints by Richard Anuszkiewicz at 1stDibs.
Op-Art Artist Anne Youkeles New Perspective Signed 3-D Serigraph Collage, 1971
By Anne Youkeles
Located in St. Louis, MO
Anne Youkeles (Austrian/American b. 1920) Op-Art Artist 3-D Geometric Serigraph Collage titled "New Perspective" signed, number 43/210 and dated 1971. In fine condition, not examined...
Glass, Wood, Paper
Marko Spalatin 1970s Large Op-Art Hard Edge Oil on Canvas Painting "Section I"
By Victor Vasarely, Marko Spalatin
Located in St. Louis, MO
An exceptional original oil on canvas geometric abstract painting titled "Section I" by listed artist Marko Spalatin (b. 1945). Executed with crisp precision, the composition highli...
Canvas, Wood, Paint
Artist Abelardo Zaluar, Geometric Abstract Painting
Located in St. Louis, MO
Abelardo Zaluar (Brazilian, 1924–1987) Mid-Century Modern artist. This gem of a painting is titled "Arca" and is signed and dated 1973. Zaluar incorporation of the lines of the Baroq...
Acrylic
Robyn Denny (1930-2014) British UNTITLED II & IV Frame Prints - Waddington Suite
By Robyn Denny
Located in St. Louis, MO
British Artist Robyn Denny (1930-2014), pair of framed geometric abstract silkscreen prints from the Waddington Suite 1968-1969, Untitled II & IV, originally sold by the famed Greenb...
Metal
Curtis Jeré 3D Steel Wire Pendulum Art Wall Sculpture OP/Art Style Abstract
By Sue Fuller, Curtis Jeré, C. Jeré Artisan House
Located in St. Louis, MO
Pretty cool and unusual wall sculpture by Curtis Jeré in the Mid-Century Modern style. This square three dimensional geometric abstraction sculpture, made of a pattern of criss crossing chromed solid wire in a square frame. In the style Pendulum or OP Art, like masters string artist Sue Fuller or Op artist Victor Vasarely. Signed Jeré 2000. The hanging wire is added, supposed to hang from brackets mounted to back. I haven't seen another out there for sale. Look at my listings, for more Curtis Jeré sculptures. Renowned brother-in-law duo, Jerry Fels and Curtis Freiler, who adopted the pseudonym Curtis Jeré for their collaborative works. Pendulum art...
Steel, Chrome
Vintage Merle Edelman Op Art Face / Head with Eyes Inside Lucite / Acrylic 1970s
By Merle James Edelman, Abraham Palatnik
Located in St. Louis, MO
Mid-Century Modern c. 1970's Merle Edelman half round Op Art face lucite sculpture with 3D eyes over a black geometric grid. Similar style as Abraham Palatnik. In fine condition, no ...
Lucite
Color Silkscreen, Inward Eye #4, by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in San Francisco, CA
Color silkscreen on wove paper, from the edition of 500 published by Aquarius Press, printed by Edition Domberger, Stuttgart. Unsigned. Mounted on mat board and framed.
Paper
Inward Eye #10, Geometric Abstract OP Art Screenprint by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz (American, 1930 - ) created the "Inward Eye" portfolio after a conversation with a friend who said that Anuszkiewcz's works reminded him of William Blake's work....
Screen
Inward Eye, #7 Geometric Abstract OP Art Screenprint by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz (American, 1930 - ) created the "Inward Eye" portfolio after a conversation with a friend who said that Anuszkiewcz's works reminded him of William Blake's work....
Screen
Inward Eye #4, Geometric Abstract OP Art Screenprint by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz (American, 1930 - ) created the "Inward Eye" portfolio after a conversation with a friend who said that Anuszkiewcz's works reminded him of William Blake's work....
Screen
Inward Eye, #3 Geometric Abstract OP Art Screenprint by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz (American, 1930 - ) created the "Inward Eye" portfolio after a conversation with a friend who said that Anuszkiewcz's works reminded him of William Blake's work....
Screen
Inward Eye, #1 Geometric Abstract OP Art Screenprint by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz (American, 1930 - ) created the "Inward Eye" portfolio after a conversation with a friend who said that Anuszkiewcz's works reminded him of William Blake's work....
Screen
In the 1960s and '70s, the hypnotic creations of Op artists went mainstream and influenced the look of pop culture.
The former First Lady kept the Victorian antique, with an elegant chinoiserie design, for the rest of her life.
