Carlos Cruz Díez

CARLOS CRUZ DÍEZ, (Caracas, 1923-2019).
"Chromo interférence manipulable", 1970.
Mixed media on wood with chromatic induction on rotating disc.
Unique work.
Signed, dated, dedicated and located (Paris), on the back.
Provenance: Gromholt Gallery, Oslo. Konrad Gromholt Collection, Norway
Exhibitions: Henie Onstad Kunstsenter , Oslo. Gromholt - Samlingen, Nov 1973 - Jan 1974.
In good general condition, with slight deterioration due to the passage of time.
Measurements: 38 x 38 cm.

La Cromointerferencia Manipulable Serie A, is a work created by Carlos Cruz Diez in 1970, it is a testimony of his pioneering exploration in the field of visual perception. This piece is a unique prototype of a series conceived under the supervision of the editor Denise René, which finally materialized in a multiple in 1989, with more modest dimensions and a print run of 100 copies.
This exceptional prototype presents an unprecedented silkscreen on plexiglass, whose central disk's rotation triggers a fascinating optical effect when manipulated. The history of Cromointerferencia dates back to 1964, when Cruz-Diez, experimenting with silkscreen printing techniques, discovered the appearance of color interferences when superimposing additive color patterns on a transparent sheet. This phenomenon, baptized as "false prisms", defies the conventions of visual perception by generating color ranges that do not exist on the physical support.

The year 1970 marked a milestone in Cruz Diez's career, coinciding with his solo exhibition in the Venezuelan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. This international recognition consolidated his position as one of the main exponents of kinetic and optical art.

This unique work has an outstanding provenance, being part of the private collection of the renowned Norwegian gallery owner, art critic and collector Konrad Gromholt, who exhibited his collection during 1973 at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Oslo.

This sculpture oscillates between the color field current represented by Kenneth Noland and Op art, a mainly abstract current, which is based on the pictorial composition of purely optical phenomena, seeking the sensation of movement on a two-dimensional surface, deceiving the eye through complex optical illusions. Repetition structures with a clear order are used, based on rigorous scientific principles in order to produce unprecedented visual effects. In this case the principles of Op Art are placed at the service of figuration, using the repetition of geometric forms and the juxtaposition of flat colors.

The French-Venezuelan artist, Carlos Cruz-Diez, has lived and worked in Paris since 1960. He is one of the most relevant protagonists of optical and kinetic art, an artistic current that claims "the awareness of the instability of reality". His research reveals him as one of the thinkers of color in the 20th century. The plastic discourse of Carlos Cruz-Diez gravitates around the chromatic phenomenon conceived as an autonomous reality that evolves in space and time, without the help of form or support, in a continuous present. Carlos Cruz-Diez's works are in prestigious permanent collections such as those of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Tate Modern in London, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Centre Pompidou in Paris, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne, among others.