1963
“I’m interested,” Richard Anuszkiewicz (1930–2020) once said, “in making something romantic out of a very, very mechanistic geometry.” Anuszkiewicz sought to achieve this romance through works juxtaposing vibrant colors in geometric configurations. The perceptual effects he created helped define the American Op art movement.
Anuszkiewicz studied color theory at Yale under Josef Albers and was greatly influenced by Albers’s approach. “The image in my work has always been determined by what I wanted the color to do,” Anuszkiewicz explained in a 1974 catalogue. “Color function becomes my subject matter, and its performance is my painting.”
He departed from his mentor, however, in the pulsating, illusory qualities he gave his work. One of his most famous paintings, Deep Magenta Square (1978), although similar in composition to Albers’s “Homage to the Square” series, is distinctly Op art in the way the striations surrounding the central square seem to vibrate and jump off the canvas.
Anuszkiewicz spent his entire career exploring optical effects through the manipulation of line and color, producing spectacular and timeless pieces of art. “Working with basic ideas will always be exciting,” he said in 1977. “And if a color or form is visually exciting in any profound sense, it will be that way in 10 or 20 years from now.”
Browse a variety of paintings and prints by Richard Anuszkiewicz at 1stDibs.
Hard-edge Abstract Geometric Painting
By John Haag
Located in San Francisco, CA
This original 2005 abstract painting titled "Two Oranges and a Green (Variation on a Theme)" is an elegant, structured mid-career artwork by the San Francisco-based artist John Haag....
Canvas, Acrylic
Monumental Geometric Op Art Oil Painting c.1970s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Monumental Geometric Op Art Oil Painting c.1970s Fantastic original Op Art oil painting. The large size will ensure it's the centerpiece of any r...
Oil
An Eye-Tricking Abstract
Located in San Francisco, CA
It's an abstract from the 1940s-1950s, but one with a brilliant trompe l’oeil effect. The artist’s intense focus for accuracy in color placement achieves three-dimensionality as if t...
Canvas, Oil
Moises Ramos Mixed Media Abstract Painting 20th Century
Located in San Francisco, CA
Moises Ramos Mixed Media Abstract Painting 20th Century Mixed media with oils and acrylics on canvas Canvas dimensions 29" wide x 22.5" high The frame measures 30.25" wide x 24" h...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
An Abstraction in the Primary Colors
Located in San Francisco, CA
Modest in life—the artist signed quite discreetly with the initials GAC—but bold on the canvas. This abstract is easy to embrace, depending only on primary colors. (Remember those th...
Canvas, Oil
Mid Century Abstract Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Very powerful, mid century abstract expressionist painting. It is signed Triea and dated 1953. On the reverse it is signed Ruffino Triea and title...
Oil
Inward Eye
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Inward Eye" 1970, is an original colors screen print by renown artist Richard Anuszkiewicz, 1930-2020. It is hand signed in pencil by the artist. The image size ...
Screen
Untitled, Geometric Abstract Acrylic Painting by David Shapiro
By David Shapiro
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: David Shapiro (American, b. 1944) Title: Untitled Year: 1978 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, signed and dated l.l. Size: 12 in. x 95 in. (30.48 cm x 241.3 cm)
Canvas, Acrylic
Inward Eye, #7 Geometric Abstract OP Art Screenprint by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz (American, 1930 - ) created the "Inward Eye" portfolio after a conversation with a friend who said that Anuszkiewcz's works reminded him of William Blake's work....
Screen
Red Blue Variations, OP Art Acrylic Painting by Roy Ahlgren
By Roy Ahlgren
Located in Long Island City, NY
An acrylic painting by Roy Ahlgren circa 1970. A geometric abstract painting utilizing bright contrasting color blocks in a modern form. Signed verso, unframed. Artist: Roy Ahlgren, American (1927 - 2011) Title: Red Blue Variations...
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
Translumina - Geometric Op Art Acrylic Painting on Wood, 1988
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Palm Desert, CA
"Translumina" is an abstract Post War acrylic on wood painting by Richard Anuszkiewicz in 1988. The artwork is 48 x 48 in. It is signed verso, "Richard Anuszkiewicz 1988” Provenance...
Wood, Acrylic
Inward Eye, #3 Geometric Abstract OP Art Screenprint by Richard Anuszkiewicz
By Richard Anuszkiewicz
Located in Long Island City, NY
Richard Anuszkiewicz (American, 1930 - ) created the "Inward Eye" portfolio after a conversation with a friend who said that Anuszkiewcz's works reminded him of William Blake's work....
Screen
