VERTIGO - Op Art and a History of Deception 1520-1970
Vertigo. Op Art and a History of Deception 1520–1970 has open on the 23th November at the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart and the visitors will be able to enjoy the exhibition until the 19th April 2020.
Marina Apollonio Spazio Ad Attivazione Cinetica 6B, 1966/2015 Museo del Barrio, New York Photo: Lauren Glazer © Marina Apollonio
The exhibition, organized by mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien in collaboration with the Stuttgart museum, is curated by Dr. Eva Badura-Triska (mumok) Dr. Eva-Marina Froitzheim (Kunstmuseum Stuttgart) and Markus Wörgötter (freelance curator, Vienna).
Geometric patterns, optical illusions, and light effects in diverse manifestations constituted the artistic content of the so-called Op Art, a visual research that uses not usually thought to be involved in the artistic practice, exploring the effect of moving artworks on viewers.
Victor Vasarely Zèbres, 1932–1942 Oil on canvas 112 x 103 cm Collection HAR Photo: Collection HAR © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019
Op Art overwhelms viewers in various ways: by manipulating perception, it provokes an experience that affects the entire body, a sensory overload. The show's title, "Vertigo", taken from Alfred Hitchcock's famous film of 1958, refers to this aspect.
On show you will find panel paintings, reliefs, and mechanically driven objects as well as installations, experience spaces, and computer-generated art from the 1950s to around 1970: among the artists exhibited we can find Victor Vasarely, Alberto Biasi, Gianni Colombo, Bridget Riley just to mention some of the most world-renowned representative of the European artistic movement.
Gianni Colombo After Structures, 1966–1967 Installation view Galleria l’Obelisco, Rome, 1966 Archivio Gianni Colombo, Milan, Photo: Archivio Gianni Colombo, Milan, © Archivio Gianni Colombo, Milan
The exhibition is also able to give a more historical overview on Op Art, with pieces from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth centuries by artists such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Erhard Schön, and Claude Mellan, in which optical effects play an essential role.
Circle of Guido Reni Prism Painting with the Portraits of Jesus and Mary, first half of 17th century Oil on wood 33,5 x 26,5 cm Werner Nekes Collection
