High Street Op Art

High Street Op Art

When we first wrote about Op Art in fashion, we were looking back at the fashions of the 1960s.  Although there were some designers who were using Op Art inspired designs when we wrote the article back in 2010, they were few in number.

Contrast that with 2013 when Op Art clothing and fashion is everywhere.  Ever since Marc Jacobs brought out his Op Art collection in the late summer of last year, we’ve seen more and more Op Art influenced clothing appear first in the designer collections and then on the high street.

Simply Be have recently produced an affordable range of Op Art womenswear.  Click on the main image below to jump to their site.

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Julio le Parc @ Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France

Julio le Parc @ Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France

Currently on at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France is a major retrospective of the work of Julio le Parc.

The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures and installations from the Argentinian-born artist from the 1950s to the present day.  This is the largest exhibition in France for Le Parc’s work since the 1980s (NB – Le Parc was expelled from France in May 1968, after participating in the Atelier Populaire and its protests against major institutions but now lives and works in Cachan, Paris).

Serie 14 5E

Serie 14 5E
Julio le Parc

Julio le Parc is a very important figure in the development of Op Art.  He was a founding member of G.R.A.V. (English version is the Visual Art Research Group) which was a pre-cursor to kinetic and Op Art.  Born in 1928, Julio is now 84 and is still as relevant today as he was in the late 1950s and 1960s.

SURC018

The exhibition takes up over 2,000 square metres of space in the Palais de Tokyo and runs from February 27 to May 13, 2013.  Entrance to the Palais de Tokyo is €10 (concessions pay less).  The Palais is open from 12 noon to 12 midnight every day except Tuesday.

PALAIS DE TOKYO
13, avenue du Président Wilson,
75 116 Paris

Lucy Alva Latashew

Lucy Alva Latashew

Lucy Alva Latashew is an Argentinian born artist living and working in Barcelona.  All of the work you see is hand painted and is masterfully precise in execution.  Lucy has been concentrating on Op Art and geometric abstraction for several years and has exhibited in Brazil, Spain, Argentina and Israel.  You can see more of her work (and excellent photographic work in addition to the paintings you see here) on her site.

5º
Lucy Alva Latashew
2012
acrylic on canvas
50cm x 150 cm
5º Lucy Alva Latashew 2012 acrylic on canvas 50cm x 150 cm
Adagietto
Lucy Alva Latashew
2012
acrylic on paper
30 x 50 cm
Adagietto Lucy Alva Latashew 2012 acrylic on paper 30 x 50 cm
Gol
Lucy Alva Latashew
2012/13
acrylic on paper
80 x 150 cm
Gol Lucy Alva Latashew 2012/13 acrylic on paper 80 x 150 cm

Did you study art? If so, where?

I was born in Argentina but I have been living in Barcelona for 13 years.  I studied Fine Arts in Buenos Aires;  I studied under Ary Brizzi, who introduced me to geometric abstraction. 

Why do you like Op Art?

When I was a Fine Arts student I started working around the concept of geometrical abstraction and its various tendencies deriving from the constructive and concrete art tradition. I’m basically interested in virtual movement which is created in our mind and then recreated in painting:  which makes painting in itself, an illusion.

I want to experience what the eye can see: the rhythm, the tension from the various modifications I make to the initial composition.

I’m fascinated by the world of colour: by the vibrations it provokes, by its behaviour as a fundamental element which can modify space and generate energy and finally by the many interpretations that it can evoke.

Europa
Lucy Alva Latashew
2012
acrylic on canvas
100 cm x 100cm
Europa Lucy Alva Latashew 2012 acrylic on canvas 100 cm x 100cm
Vendredi
Lucy Alva Latashew
2012
acrylic on canvas
70 x 150 cm
Vendredi Lucy Alva Latashew 2012 acrylic on canvas 70 x 150 cm
Imitaçao da vida
Lucy Alva Latashew
2012
acrylic on paper
30 x 50 cm
Imitaçao da vida Lucy Alva Latashew 2012 acrylic on paper 30 x 50 cm

Since new technology has allowed for new forms of creation, giving impulse to the development of the Op Art language, this is my way of interpreting the world today.

How do you make your art?

I use different kinds of media.

I use the computer to set up my composition and then I switch to non-virtual (traditional) two-dimensional media.

When I sit in front of the screen, there’s a real exchange game that starts between myself  and motion, the game of visual perception. During this process, I mainly use PhotoShop and Illustrator. Afterwards, I use canvas or methyl methacrylate as a base with acrylic paint, airbrush, paint brushes, pencils …

4000
Lucy Alva Latashew
4000 Lucy Alva Latashew
op1b
Lucy Alva Latashew
op1b Lucy Alva Latashew
006
Lucy Alva Latashew
006 Lucy Alva Latashew

What’s the process for making one of your artworks?

The process can vary both in terms of phases and timing. It depends on what I am looking for at that moment.

I usually set up the drawing or composition on the computer.

Then a kind of a dialogue starts on between me and the Form.

When I am working on the digital image, I create various colour situations; obviously I know that in this phase I’m working with RGB colours, which are totally different from pigment colours.

When I am ready to transfer my composition onto a real base, canvas, paper or any other media, I prepare different colour samples until I get what I’m looking for.

When I’m actually painting, I always keep one part of my work covered so that I will never have a whole vision of it in front of me. It’s a game between what’s hidden and what’s revealed, like in a masked ball.

Ogni cuore
Lucy Alva Latashew
2013
acrylic on canvas
100 cm x 100cm
Ogni cuore Lucy Alva Latashew 2013 acrylic on canvas 100 cm x 100cm
Paraules-d´amor
Lucy Alva Latashew
Paraules-d´amor Lucy Alva Latashew
Expectación
Lucy Alva Latashew
Expectación Lucy Alva Latashew

Any other art you like and other artists that inspire or have inspired you.

All kinds visual arts and music.

Among some of the artists I admire I can mention Kasimir Malevich, Naum Gabo, Joseph Albers, Piet Mondrian, Marcel Duchamp, Max Bill, Richard Paul Lohse, Jesús Rafael Soto, Bridget Riley, Vasareley, but of course the list is not exhaustive.

Anything else?

I love watching films, reading, going to exhibitions and I also try to keep informed on what’s going on in the world.

Kinetica Art Fair @ Ambika P3, London, England

Kinetica Art Fair @ Ambika P3, London, England

The annual Kinetica Art Fair 2013 is currently underway at Ambika P3, 35 Marylebone Road, London NE1 5LS.  Amongst other artists, the exhibition will feature some of the works of Italian Op Artists Alberto Biassi and Paolo Scirpa.  They are to be found on stand no.2 and are represented by maab studio d’arte.

The Kinetica Art Fair is only on for the next couple of days (runs 28th February 2013 to 3rd March 2013) so you will need to be quick.

Kinetica Art Fair

Kinetica Art Fair

Kinetica Art Fair, one of London’s annual landmark art exhibitions and a permanent fixture in the Art Fair calendar, brings together galleries, art organisations and curatorial groups from around the world who focus on kinetic, electronic, robotic, sound, light, time-based and multi-disciplinary new media art, science and technology.

For 2013 Kinetica is hosting the work of over 40 galleries and art organisations nationally and internationally, with representatives from UK, France, Russia, USA, Poland, Holland, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Indonesia and Japan, collectively showing over 400 works of art.”

As the Daily Telegraph has said of a previous exhibition: “If you can’t find something to excite you at Kinetica you probably don’t have a pulse