OP ART

JESUS RAFAEL SOTO

JESÚS RAFAEL SOTO
 WHAT IS OP ART
OP ART, SHORT FOR OPTICAL ART, IS A STYLE OF
VISUAL ART THAT USES OPTICAL ILLUSIONS.

OP ARTWORKS ARE ABSTRACT, WITH MANY

BETTER-KNOWN PIECES CREATED IN BLACK AND
WHITE. TYPICALLY, THEY GIVE THE VIEWER THE
IMPRESSION OF MOVEMENT, HIDDEN IMAGES,
FLASHING AND VIBRATING PATTERNS, OR
SWELLING OR WARPING.

JESÚS RAFAEL SOTO

WAS A VENEZUELAN OP
AND KINETIC ARTIST, A
SCULPTOR AND A
PAINTER. HIS WORKS
CAN BE FOUND IN THE
COLLECTIONS OF THE
MAIN MUSEUMS OF THE
WORLD, INCLUDING
TATE, MUSEUM
LUDWIG, CENTRE
GEORGES POMPIDOU,
GALLERIA NAZIONALE
D’ARTE MODERNA AND
MOMA
ESFERA THEOSPACIO
AS THE WORLD INCHED TOWARDS THE 21ST
CENTURY, THE PUBLIC’S USE AND
EXPERIENCE OF ART HAD BEEN
TRANSPORTED OUTSIDE. OPEN AIR
SCULPTURES AND INSTALLATIONS WERE NO
LONGER UNUSUAL, AND EVERYDAY THERE
WERE FEWER AND FEWER PEOPLE WHO
BELIEVED THAT ART—IN THE TRUE SENSE OF
THE WORD—ONLY BELONGED IN MUSEUMS.
MAJOR CITIES EVERYWHERE WERE REAPING
THE RESULTS OF THEIR INVESTMENTS IN
THE ARTS BY SHOWCASING LARGE-SCALE
WORKS IN PARKS AND POPULAR OUTDOOR
VENUES.
CUBO Y ESFERA
VIRTUAL
VIRTIUAL CUBE AND SPHERE EMERGED FROM
SOTO’S LIFELONG MISSION OF CREATING ART
THAT DIRECTLY INTERACTS WITH PEOPLE IN
BOTH PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL WAYS.
LIKE SOTO’S PUBLIC WORKS, THE PIECE
WHICH COMPRISES THE PRESENT LOT HAS
THE ABILITY TO CONTINUOUSLY
REVOLUTIONIZE ITS SETTING. IT RADIATES
ITS DENSITY OUTWARDS, FILLING ANY
SPACE WITH GRAPHIC POTENTIAL AND
ALLURING VIGOR. THE SLIGHTEST CHANGE
IN VIEWING ANGLE OR LIGHTING SEEMS TO
ALTER THE WORK’S SHAPE, CASTING
STRIKING SHADOWS AND OPTICAL PATTERNS
ON ANY NEARBY SURFACE. IN DOING SO, IT
MANAGES TO SUBVERT PRECONCEIVED IDEAS
OF CONTEXT AND ELIMINATE THE OPTION OF
EMPTINESS. REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEY
ARE LOCATED, SOTO’S WORKS RELY ON
HUMAN INTERACTION AND THOUGHT TO
ACHIEVE THEIR FULL, TRANSFORMATIVE
POTENTIAL.
SPIRALES (SOTOMAGIE)
EDITION DENISE RENÉ