Francis Celentano - Op-Art.co.uk

Francis Celentano is one of the original Op Art pioneers who was featured in the cutting edge exhibition that is credited with bringing the Op Art movement to the mainstream – the famous “Responsive Eye” exhibition held at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1965 – where his work was shown alongside work by Bridget Riley and other key artists of the movement.

Poniard Series
Francis Celentano
1965
acrylic on masonite
34 x 42 — Poniard Series Francis Celentano 1965 acrylic on masonite 34 x 42

Image from Elliptical Kinetic Painting III
Francis Celentano
1968
Serigraph print
20x28 framed — Image from Elliptical Kinetic Painting III Francis Celentano 1968 Serigraph print 20×28 framed

Alpha Diamond IV
Francis Celentano
1969
acrylic on canvas
57 x 57 diagonal — Alpha Diamond IV Francis Celentano 1969 acrylic on canvas 57 x 57 diagonal

Francis’s work has been collected by (amongst others) the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art, The Albright-Knox Gallery, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Buenos Aires and The Seattle Art Museum. He is currently represented by the Loretta Howard Gallery in New York and the Laura Russo Gallery in Portland, Oregon.

Red Alternates
Francis Celentano
1969
acrylic on canvas
35 x 48 — Red Alternates Francis Celentano 1969 acrylic on canvas 35 x 48

Alpha Reverse in Black and White
Francis Celentano
1970
acrylic on canvas
35 x 48 — Alpha Reverse in Black and White Francis Celentano 1970 acrylic on canvas 35 x 48

We are absolutely honoured to be able to feature Francis’s work on the site.

Did you study art? If so, where?
I took elective courses in drawing and painting in Undergraduate school at New York University. My studies were predominantly in the history of art in graduate and undergraduate school at New York University. In the 1950’s in New York when I started painting I was encouraged by ideas I shared with contemporary artists as well as exhibitions of avant-garde art. A Fulbright gave me a year in Rome in 1957-58 which was also important in the direction my art took.

Diamorphus 10
Francis Celentano
1977
acrylic on plastic
58 x 8 — Diamorphus 10 Francis Celentano 1977 acrylic on plastic 58 x 8

Iota 18a
Francis Celentano
1973
acrylic on plastic
60 x 8 — Iota 18a Francis Celentano 1973 acrylic on plastic 60 x 8

Exana #10
Francis Celentano
1993
Acrylic on Plastic
60x8 — Exana #10 Francis Celentano 1993 Acrylic on Plastic 60×8

Why do you like Op Art?
Because it’s a clearly calibrated means of visual expression. it exists solely on its own terms. The subject is purely perceptual without external references.
Each work of art demands attention on every visual level of interaction in terms of itself alone.

How do you make your art?
I use Photo Shop to design my paintings and then I scale up the design. I make adjustments, select the colors and transfer the design to canvas or a plastic surface. The piece begins with an idea. I may draw and/or work out solutions before I start working on it in PhotoShop.

Spira P Sycopated
Francis Celentano
1988
acrylic on plastic
67x10 — Spira P Sycopated Francis Celentano 1988 acrylic on plastic 67×10

Serpa 4
Francis Celentano
2002
acrylic on plastic
60x10 — Serpa 4 Francis Celentano 2002 acrylic on plastic 60×10

Spira R Syncopated
Francis Celentano
1968
acrylic on plastic
67x10 — Spira R Syncopated Francis Celentano 1968 acrylic on plastic 67×10

What’s the process for making one of your artworks?
There have been many different series over the years. Each painting in a series is done in the same way. For example the recent Gemini series involved the overlapping of two identical patterns. By this means a new pattern with new shapes was generated. I used PhotoShop to design the pattern and manipulate the overlaps choosing those that I felt were exciting. The pattern is scaled up to fit the size of the canvas, printed out, traced onto the canvas and painted with selected acrylic colors.

Le Cirque 10
Francis Celentano
2004
acrylic on canvas
60 x 84 — Le Cirque 10 Francis Celentano 2004 acrylic on canvas 60 x 84

Electra 5
Francis Celentano
1990
acrylic on canvas
45 x 60 — Electra 5 Francis Celentano 1990 acrylic on canvas 45 x 60

Le Cirque 2
Francis Celentano
2003
acrylic on canvas
44 x 62 inch — Le Cirque 2 Francis Celentano 2003 acrylic on canvas 44 x 62 inch

Final thoughts?.
For me Op Art or Perceptual Art, intriguing for its ambiguities and tensions, seem to function as a metaphor for the distortions of experience and reason generously provided by nature and culture.