Carlos Cruz-Diez

Carlos Cruz-Diez (17 August 1923 – 27 July 2019) was a Venezuelan artist said by some scholars to have been "one of the greatest artistic innovators of the 20th century." Cruz-Diez’s vivid studies of color, light, pattern, and perception helped pioneer kinetic and Op art. The artist drew on earlier Pointillist techniques to produce neon-hued linework and gridded compositions that appear to shift and vibrate. Cruz-Diez made prints, paintings, and installations throughout his career, extending his methods to large-scale and experiential works. He studied art in Caracas, worked in journalism and advertising, then moved to Paris in 1960. In 1965, Cruz-Diez was included in the landmark Museum of Modern Art exhibition "The Responsive Eye," which focused on Op art. He went on to exhibit in New York, Paris, and Caracas, among other cities, and his work belongs in the collections of the Tate, the Centre Pompidou, the Muse de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.