SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Scott Richards Contemporary Art presents OPTIC NERVE, a group exhibition of optical abstraction by a diverse collection of international artists.

Op Art challenges conventional ideas of human perception by juxtaposing color and line to produce geometric surfaces that appear to vibrate or shift. Liberal use is made of available materials; the works can range from carefully taped and hand-painted tempera paintings to three-dimensional multi-media structures. With the aim of bringing a better understanding of this wide-ranging subject to a Bay Area audience, Optic Nerve will underscore the influence of the 1960s Op Art movement on a dynamic younger generation of artists. The show will contrast well–established 20th century masters — such as Victor Vasarely , Richard Anuszkiewicz, Julian Stanczak and Carlos Cruz-Diez – with younger contemporary artists, including Tim Bavington, Antonio Marra, William Metcalf and Eric Zammitt.

Victor Vasarely needs no introduction; he is considered the grandfather of the original Op Art movement with his vibrating illusionist paintings. Richard Anuszkiewicz and Julian Stanczak are two of the most broadly influential American optical artists: both were included in the Museum of Modern Art’s The Responsive Eye exhibition of 1965 — one of the first exhibitions to define Op Art — alongside artists such as Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly, Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely. Although all Op Art artists address the illusion of movement through the interaction of color, Carlos Cruz-Diez takes it a step further, by literally building a kinetic dimension into his complex color compositions with metal, plastic and other materials. Active since the early 1960s, he is one of the most important Latin American artists working today.

Younger artists have also embraced the wealth of materials at their disposal. Tim Bavington approaches optical abstraction via the mathematical and sensual attributes of music. Pure musical tonalities and tempo are translated into corresponding rhythmic patterns using stained synthetic polymer. Antonio Marra, an Italian artist living in Germany, combs deep, precise strokes through thick paint, which are then individually painted in contrasting luminous colors. The result is a complete change of the image as the viewer walks in front of the piece. In the case of William Metcalf, translucent painted fabric is stretched over a convex wooden frame. The wall-mounted works appear to float pure color in the air above the surface. The constructions of Eric Zammitt are made from thousands of colored bits of acrylic plastic, laminated into cohesive panels. Smooth as glass, the surfaces are a mesmerizing array of pulsating colors, shifting and shimmering as the light and vantage point changes.