American, 1930
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Inflexional I
acrylic on canvas, 1966
72 x 72 inches
Signed and dated on verso "Richard Anuszkiewicz, 1966"
Purchase prize first Flint Invitational, 1966.24
acrylic on canvas, 1966
72 x 72 inches
Signed and dated on verso "Richard Anuszkiewicz, 1966"
Purchase prize first Flint Invitational, 1966.24
Richard Anuszkiewicz is best known for the role he played in the development of Op Art (short for "Optical Art"), a movement that came to prominence in the mid-1960s. Using purely nonrepresentational means, Op Artists create canvases that appear to shimmer and dance, vibrate and quiver, contract and expand, advance and recede—optical effects that are produced by an array of complex patterns and carefully combined colors.
Inflexional I is executed in an impersonal manner and with mathematical precision. The painting is structured on the strong optical contrast between its red and blue linear bands, the majority of which are inscribed at an angle relative to the edge of the canvas. Because they intersect at the top right and bottom left corners, it appears as if they are being pulled or stretched, not unlike a rubber band. The light blue lines in the very center of the composition, by contrast, form a perfect square that echoes the shape of the canvas. When viewed more closely, however, they create the illusion of a tunnel that recedes deep into space or, alternately, a pyramid whose very top projects toward the viewer. The confusion that Inflexional I creates in the visual field is characteristic of Op Art.
Inflexional I is executed in an impersonal manner and with mathematical precision. The painting is structured on the strong optical contrast between its red and blue linear bands, the majority of which are inscribed at an angle relative to the edge of the canvas. Because they intersect at the top right and bottom left corners, it appears as if they are being pulled or stretched, not unlike a rubber band. The light blue lines in the very center of the composition, by contrast, form a perfect square that echoes the shape of the canvas. When viewed more closely, however, they create the illusion of a tunnel that recedes deep into space or, alternately, a pyramid whose very top projects toward the viewer. The confusion that Inflexional I creates in the visual field is characteristic of Op Art.
