Influenced by his upbringing in Judaism as well as the teachings of the Bauhaus, Yaacov Agam is a pioneer of kinetic art as well as the Op art movement and is often credited with introducing geometric abstraction to his home country of Israel.
Born in Rishon LeZion, Palestine — now part of Israel — the son of a rabbi, Agam found that the spiritual world had a major influence on his art practice, as did the sand dunes he grew up watching as they constantly shifted with the wind. This perpetual movement would inform his work, whereby riveting, prismatic compositions that transform from different perspectives, patterns that generate optical effects and sculptures that move with a passing breeze all reflect the gradual changes in nature.
Agam studied with Israeli painter Mordecai Ardon at the Bezalel School of Art in Jerusalem in the 1940s before traveling to Zurich where he trained with Swiss Expressionist painter Johannes Itten and was inspired by the abstract work of Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky.
One of the innovative techniques Agam developed was the Agamograph, which uses lenticular printing so that multiple images, which are revealed as the viewer moves around the piece, can be seen on a single work. His art has regularly involved the spectator as a participant, whether it’s the 1972–74 room-size kinetic installation he created for the Elysée Palace that’s now in the Centre Pompidou in which a gleaming abstract sculpture is surrounded on all sides by polychromatic lines or it’s public art like the 1986 Fire and Water Fountain in Tel Aviv with circles of vibrant panels that offer varying colors from every angle.
In 2018, the Yaacov Agam Museum of Art opened in Rishon LeZion, showcasing six decades of Agam’s influential work that engages with perception through color, shape and form, from paintings, prints and installations to new experiments in interactive digital art.
Find a collection of Yaacov Agam art today on 1stDibs.
$47,600Sale Price|20% Off
Love Star Of David (original gouache on paper)
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Aventura, FL
Original gouache painting on paper. Hand signed lower front by Yaacov Agam. Image size 20.25 x 18.5 inches. Sheet size 29 x 22.2 inches. Frame size approx 33 x 31 inches. Cert...
Paper, Gouache
Yaacov Agam, Small EA nd, Original kinetic work, Acrylic on aluminium
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Tel Aviv, IL
Yaacov Agam, Original work, Acrylic on aluminium, 1989, Kinetic art, kinetic work, hand-painted, Israeli afrtist, Israeli art Dimensions (no frame): Height: 22 cm (8.66 in), Width: 2...
Acrylic
Yaacov Agam, Fascination, Prismograph
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Tel Aviv, IL
Yaacov Agam,Fascination, Prismograph, Op art, Colored work, International artist, Israeli artist, Israeli art. Op art pioneer Yaacov Agam’s abstract artworks—which range from painti...
Plywood
$57,000
Yaacov Agam, Pace of Time, original work, Watercolor on paper, 1972, mini model
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Tel Aviv, IL
Yaacov Agam, Pace of Time, Original work, gouache on paper, International artist, Israeli artist, Israeli art. This work is installed in the main entrance of the Tel Aviv museum in a...
Paper, Gouache
$74,018
Tactile Bleu - Mixed, Media, Oil on board with springs, 40 painted metal discs
By Yaacov Agam
Located in London, GB
Yaacov Agam Tactile Bleu, 1964 Oil on board with springs and 40 painted metal discs 55.9 x 78.7 x 2.5 cm 22 x 31 x 1 in
Metal
Colorful Kinetic original oil on wood round painting by Yaacov Agam
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Jerusalem, IL
This mesmerizing kinetic piece by Yaacov Agam exemplifies his pioneering approach to visual perception and movement. the work is constructed with a dynamic, circular structure that ...
Wood, Oil
Image au Carre, Geometric Kinetic Painting by Yaacov Agam
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Long Island City, NY
"Image au Carre" or "Square Image" is an original painting on linen mounted to wood by Israeli Kinetic artist, Yaacov Agam. The painting is signed, titled and dated verso and signed/...
Wood, Acrylic
$6,500
H 37.5 in W 31 in D 1.5 in
Original 1940s Retrofuturism Gouache Painting 'Birth of Mind' in Black & White
By Charles Ragland Bunnell
Located in Denver, CO
This vintage 1941 gouache painting on paper, titled Birth of Mind, signed and dated lower right, is a striking example of retrofuturism by Charles Ragland Bunnell, a prominent artist from the Broadmoor Academy...
Gouache, Archival Paper
$1,680Sale Price|20% Off
H 30 in W 40 in D 0.25 in
Abstract Expressionist Original Gouache on paper Collage style of de Kooning
Located in Soquel, CA
Abstract Expressionist Original Gouache on paper and Collage Abstract Gouache and Paper Collage by Harold Winer (American, 1913-2006). Image 30"H x 40"W Slat with white paint .25" ...
Gouache, Illustration Board, Laid Paper
$975Sale Price|20% Off
H 36 in W 36 in D 0.25 in
"Mr. Mute Mops Mouths Silent" - Whimsical Figurative in Acrylic on Masonite
Located in Soquel, CA
"Mr. Mute Mops Mouths Silent" - Whimsical Figurative in Acrylic on Masonite Bright figurative composition with a mime by Frances Mann (American, 20th Century). The figure in this pi...
Masonite, Acrylic
$590
H 40 in W 28 in
Abstracted Letter Sunset, Vintage Miami Style Colors, Earth Tones Figures
By Natalia Roman
Located in Barcelona, ES
"Abstracted Letter Sunset" is an abstract painting by Spanish artist Natalia Roman. These color field paintings are inspired by both modernist shapes of ...
Acrylic, Gouache, Paper
$950
H 12 in W 9 in D 2 in
Lover's Settee by Amy Dixon, Abstract Still Life Interior Canvas Painting
By Amy Dixon
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Lover’s Settee" by Amy Dixon – Romantic Interior Painting with Chandelier, Mixed Media on Canvas, 12x9 in Infuse your space with charm and sophistication through Lover’s Settee, a 1...
Canvas, Acrylic
Untitled
Located in Summit, NJ
Gorgeous oil on wood by 20th century American painter Don Smith. The piece is a beautiful candy apple red color with a grass green border and touches of cobalt blue, mustard yellow ...
Wood, Oil
$7,500
H 48 in W 56 in D 2 in
"Open Window", Large Scale Minimalist Color-Field Abstract
By Sasha Rogers
Located in Soquel, CA
Large scale, compelling abstract titled "Open Window" by Canadian abstract painter Sasha Rogers (Canadian, b. 1969), daughter of premier art...
Canvas, Acrylic
$190,000
H 29.5 in W 21.5 in
Worms and Sun, American Modern Gouache and Watercolor on Paper, 1963
By Alexander Calder
Located in New York, NY
Alexander Calder (1898-1976) American, Lawnton, PA - New York, NY “Worms and Sun” 1963 Gouache and watercolor and paper 29 ½ x 21 ½ in. unframed 36 ⅞ x 27 ⅞ in. framed Signed and da...
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
$1,000
H 20 in W 15 in D 1 in
Home I by Brook Soss, Color block Vertical Abstract on Paper With Sandstone
Located in Atlanta, GA
Brook Soss, "Home I" – Contemporary Abstract Artwork in Sandstone and Acrylic Elevate your space with "Home I", a stunning contemporary mixed-media artwork by acclaimed artist Brook ...
Sandstone
$1,000
H 12 in W 12 in D 2 in
Her She Shed by Amy Dixon, Abstract Still Life Interior Canvas Painting
By Amy Dixon
Located in Atlanta, GA
Her She Shed by Amy Dixon is a captivating 12 x 12-inch mixed media painting bursting with joyful energy and expressive color. A celebration of feminine creativity and sanctuary, thi...
Canvas, Acrylic
Large-Scale Modern Argyle Abstract
By D.S. Silver
Located in Soquel, CA
Whimsical large-scale abstract presenting a modernist take on old-fashioned argyle shapes with contemporary color palate by D.S. Silver (American, 20th Century), a San Francisco, Cal...
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
$88,000
H 41.5 in W 41.5 in D 2 in
Metallic Water, unique 1960s Op Art painting (signed), Art Institute of Chicago
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in New York, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz Metallic Water, 1964 Painting with Liquitex on canvas. (1964 Art Institute of Chicago Exhibition and J.L. Hudson Gallery) Signed boldly and dated 1964 on the ver...
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Canvas
LOVE STAR OF DAVID
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Aventura, FL
Original gouache painting on paper. Hand signed lower front by Yaacov Agam. Image size 20.25 x 18.5 inches. Sheet size 29 x 22.2 inches. Frame size approx 33 x 31 inches. Cert...
Paper, Gouache
Colorful polymorph Yaacov Agam work 3D Kinetic art
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Jerusalem, IL
A colorful work in a kinetic style by Yaacov Agam. From every angle you can see a different illustration. The piece is framed in transparent Plexiglas
Mixed Media
Yaacov Agam, Fascination, Prismograph
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Tel Aviv, IL
Yaacov Agam,Fascination, Prismograph, Op art, Colored work, International artist, Israeli artist, Israeli art. Op art pioneer Yaacov Agam’s abstract artworks—which range from paint...
Plywood
Sold
H 31.3 in W 41.93 in D 2.37 in
One and Another - Kinetic Op Art Serigraph Signed & Numbered by Yaacov Agam
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Atlanta, GA
Original Op Art artwork serigraph (silkscreen print on paper) by Yaacov Agam titled "One and Another" from the same name collection. This fantasy optical illusion art by Agam, with m...
Parchment Paper, Ink
Blue/Violet #8
By Yaacov Agam
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Yaacov Agam, Israeli (1928 - ) Title: Blue/Violet #8 Year: circa 1990 Medium: Unique Silkscreen on Canvas Mounted to Board, Signed lower center Size: 18 x 20 inches Fram...
Acrylic, Screen