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Op Art

OP ART STYLE

The Op art movement emerged in the 1960s, mirroring the counterculture of the time in its embrace of visual trickery, graphic shapes and bright colors.

Spreading across Europe and the Americas, the style — whose name is short for “optical art” — influenced advertising, fashion and interior design before fading in the early ’70s.

Op art remained significant, however, for artists and scientists interested in the nature of perception. And today, it’s seeing a resurgence of interest from collectors and interior designers.

Op artists played with the principles of perception, manipulating line, shape, patterns and color to create the illusion of depth and movement. They drew on and evolved methods developed by past movements, from Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism, to produce intense visual experiences.

All the Op artists shared a focus on the gap between what is and what we perceive. Each, however, had a distinct approach to the issue and a unique visual style.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Op art that includes works by Josef Albers, Bridget Riley, Jesús Rafael Soto and more.

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Style: Op Art
Artist: Jesús Rafael Soto
Squares
Located in Miami, FL
Jesus Rafael Soto "Squares" 1969 Screenprint with collage 21 x 19 Ed 87 of 200 Jesús Rafael Soto (1923-2005) was a Venezuelan op and kinetic artist, a sculptor and a painter. His wo...
Category

1960s Op Art

Materials

Lithograph

Quadrato
Located in Miami, FL
Jesus Rafael Soto (1923-2005) Quadrato 1974 Editions Denise Rene 46 of 75 Acrylic/aluminum with painted metal rods 17,5 x 15,7 x 12,5 in Signed and dated Provenance: Editions Galeri...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Metal

La Escalera Azul, de la serie Sintesis
Located in Miami, FL
La Escalera Azul, de la serie Sintesis 1979 Plexiglas and metal Ed 37 of 110 20 x 14 x 5 in Literature: Museo Guggenheim Bilbao. “Soto. The Fourth dimension”. Catalogue published on...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Metal

Petite Vibration Brique et Noir
Located in Miami, FL
Petite Vibration Brique et Noir (1966) Painted wood with a painted metal rod and nylon thread Edition Galerie Bischofberger, Zurich Ed. 16 / 35 20 x 18 x 18 in Provenance: Galerie Elke Dröscher, Hamburg Galerie Meißner, Hamburg (1976) Private collection, Baden-Württemberg Lempertz Auction. Contemporary Art...
Category

1960s Op Art

Materials

Metal

Jesús Rafael Soto ( 1923 – 2005 ) – hand-signed Screenprint – 1971
Located in Varese, IT
Screenprint in colors on paper, edited in 1971 limited edition of 175 copies signed in pencil by artist in lower right Edition: Denise Rene , with blindstamp image size: 42 × 42 cm s...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Paper, Screen

Jesús Rafael Soto ( 1923 – 2005 ) – hand-signed Screenprint – 1971
Located in Varese, IT
Screenprint in colors on paper, edited in 1971 limited edition of 175 copies signed in pencil by artist in lower right Edition: Denise Rene , with blindstamp image size: 39 × 39 cm s...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Paper, Screen

Untitled (Black and Silver)
Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México
Untitled Signed Serigraphy 110 / 200 Stamp from Denise René Editeur, Paris France.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Op Art

Materials

Screen

Ovalo Verde, Geometric Abstract Screenprint by Jesus Rafael Soto
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Ovalo Verde Year: circa 1980 Medium: Screenprint on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 150, AP 25 Paper Si...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Screen

Mirroire d'Artiste
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Mirroire d'Artiste Year: 2005 Medium: Mirrored Glass and Silkscreened Plexiglass Wall Sculpture, signature and number ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Op Art

Materials

Metal

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BI-VEGA
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Secret Window
Secret Window
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Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin (Kusama large plush pumpkin)
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NEPTUNE
Located in Aventura, FL
Neptune, from Eight Impressions. Serigraph in colors on wove paper. Hand signed and numbered by Victor Vasarely. Un-numbered (outside the hand numbered edition of 250). Image size 16 x 16 inches. Sheet size 24.37 x 19.25 inches. Frame size approx 26.5 x 25.5 inches. Additional images available upon request. Certificate of authenticity included. Artwork in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered. About the Artist: Victor Vasarely ((French/Hungarian, 1906–1997) was credited as the grandfather and leader of the Op Art movement. Utilizing geometric shapes and colorful graphics, the artist created compelling illusions of spatial depth, as seen in his work Vega-Nor (1969). Vasarely’s method of painting borrowed from a range of influences, including Bauhaus design principles, Wassily Kandinsky, and Constructivism. Born Győző Vásárhelyi on April 9, 1906 in Pécs, Hungary, he briefly studied medicine, but after two years he dedicated himself to learn academic painting. In the late 1920s, Vasarely enrolled at the Muhely Academy in Budapest, where the syllabus was largely based on Walter Gropius’s Bauhaus school in Germany. After settling in Paris in 1930, Vasarely worked in advertising agencies to support himself as a graphic artist while creating many works including Zebra (1937), which is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of Op Art. The artist experimented in a style based in Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism during the 1940s, before arriving at his hallmark checkerboard paintings...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Paper, Screen

NEPTUNE
NEPTUNE
H 26.5 in W 25.5 in D 1 in
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Scultura metacrilato metacrilato (plexiglass 100% riciclato) assemblata a mano - design by Gio Schiano edizione ex (LIMITED EDITIONS OF 50) Misure: alto...
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Android Eye
Android Eye
H 11.82 in W 11.82 in D 2.37 in
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TETTYE
Located in Aventura, FL
Serigraph in colors on wove paper. Hand signed and numbered by Victor Vasarely. From the edition of 250. Image size 26 x 26 inches. Sheet size 34.5 x 30 inches. Frame size approx 40 x 37 inches. Additional images available upon request. Certificate of authenticity included. Artwork in excellent condition. All reasonable offers will be considered. About the Artist: Victor Vasarely ((French/Hungarian, 1906–1997) was credited as the grandfather and leader of the Op Art movement. Utilizing geometric shapes and colorful graphics, the artist created compelling illusions of spatial depth, as seen in his work Vega-Nor (1969). Vasarely’s method of painting borrowed from a range of influences, including Bauhaus design principles, Wassily Kandinsky, and Constructivism. Born Győző Vásárhelyi on April 9, 1906 in Pécs, Hungary, he briefly studied medicine, but after two years he dedicated himself to learn academic painting. In the late 1920s, Vasarely enrolled at the Muhely Academy in Budapest, where the syllabus was largely based on Walter Gropius’s Bauhaus school in Germany. After settling in Paris in 1930, Vasarely worked in advertising agencies to support himself as a graphic artist while creating many works including Zebra (1937), which is considered by some to be one of the earliest examples of Op Art. The artist experimented in a style based in Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism during the 1940s, before arriving at his hallmark checkerboard paintings...
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1970s Op Art

Materials

Paper, Screen

FILLE FLEUR (SILVER)
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1980s Op Art

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FILLE FLEUR (SILVER)
No Reserve
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Previously Available Items
Kinetic OP Art Silkscreen by Jesús Rafael Soto
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Expo 60 - ARC Musee D'Art Moderne Ville De Paris Year: 1969 Medium: Screenprint, signed ...
Category

1960s Op Art

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Screen

Untitled (Olympic Centennial)
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on Arches. Signed and numbered 58/250 in pencil. Published by Puma Trading, Paris, or Editiones Catalanes, Barcelona, for the Interna...
Category

1990s Op Art

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Untitled
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on heavy white wove paper. Signed and numbered 8/100 in pencil. Published by Edition Domberger, Stuttgart, and Artists United for Nat...
Category

1990s Op Art

Materials

Color, Screen

Composition, circa 1980
Located in Cuauhtemoc, Ciudad de México
Composition, circa 1980 Signed Serigraphy E. A.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Op Art

Materials

Screen

Composition 1 (aka. "Yellow Squares")
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Jesús Rafael Soto (1923-2005) was a Venezuelan artist and defining figure of Kinetic Art and Op Art, best known for his large-scale sculptures. After completing his artistic traini...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Etching, Screen

Kinetic OP Art Silkscreen by Jesus Rafael Soto
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Red Row Year: Circa 1980 Medium: Screenprint on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Edit...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Screen

Red Row, Kinetic OP Art Silkscreen by Jesús Rafael Soto
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Red Row Year: Circa 1980 Medium: Screenprint on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Ed...
Category

1980s Op Art

Materials

Screen

Kinetic OP Art Screenprint by Jesus Rafael Soto
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Sin Titulo Year: circa 1970 Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 15/...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Screen

Objeto Cinetico Arcay
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Objeto Cinetico Arcay Year: 1970 Medium: Acrylic Wall Sculpture, signed and numbered Edition: 2/8 Size: 21.25 x 20.8 x 4.75...
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1970s Op Art

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Mixed Media

Objeto Cinetico Arcay
Objeto Cinetico Arcay
H 21.25 in W 20.75 in D 4.75 in
Biface
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto Title: Biface Year: 1968-1970 Medium: Mixed Media Kinetic Sculpture, signature, title, and numbering inscribed Edition: 92/200 Size: 12.5 x 10.5 x 9.5 in (...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Biface
Biface
H 12.5 in W 10.5 in D 9.5 in
FL VI
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: FL VI Year: 1973 Medium: Embossed Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 50/95 Size: 36.5 x 36.5 inches
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Etching

Ovalo Rojo
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Jesus Rafael Soto, Venezuelan (1923 - 2005) Title: Ovalo Rojo Year: Circa 1980 Medium: Screenprint on Arches, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 150, AP 25 Paper Siz...
Category

1970s Op Art

Materials

Screen

Op Art art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Op art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Victor Vasarely, Roy Ahlgren, Victor Debach, and Yaacov Agam. Frequently made by artists working with Screen Print, and Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Op Art, so small editions measuring 2 inches across are also available. Prices for art made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $66 and tops out at $350,000, while the average work sells for $1,616.

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