Garry Harley is an American artist, born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Nebraska who currently lives and works in Concord, Massachusetts, USA (west of Boston). He is a trained architect and his OP-ART prints and paintings have been selected for display in the last two Faber Birren National Colour Award Show’s conducted by The Stamford Art Association.

Did you study art? If so, where?

I am not a graduate of a traditional Fine Arts or Art History Program, however, as a graduate architect I was exposed to many of the important artists and their work as part of my architectural studies. Further, I have been able to visit many art galleries and museums in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, London, Paris and Florence to view the actual work.

Why do you like OP Art?

After graduation from college I worked in New York City where I was able to attend the Museum of Modern Art’s show The Responsive Eye, this show stimulated my long-standing interest in OP-ART.

How do you make your art? Do you use a computer?

Yes, I use an iMac with various software and using Archival-Ink I either print on high-grade museum quality archival papers or canvas. I am also now in the process of creating three-dimensional pieces using both 3-D Printing and traditional wood shop equipment.

What’s the process for making one of your artworks?

The most difficult step I find is the act of self-editing. After creating a series of images, sometimes during lengthy periods of studio work, it is critical to take time to ‘sort out’ the really meaningful images and then only publish a reduced number in the series. My tendency, in the past, was to ‘pack’ my shows with too much content, I find it is difficult to ‘boil-it-down’ and have patience. I am also always searching for various new presentation methods that may support the concept of the piece at hand.

Any other art you like and other artists that inspire or have inspired you?

During a period I was at The University of Pennsylvania, Piero Dorazio was working there. He has written about the search in his painting for a mix of colour intensity and transparency… also the importance of concept clarity and dignity. I find these comments very appealing and try to use these ‘bench-marks’ in my work. I also always go back to study Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, Richard Anusziewicz, and of course Josef Albers’ work including ‘Homage To The Square’. Another recent discovery is the work of Anne-Karin Furunes and her unique technique of employing perforation of the art surface including her recent cut-paper series Portraits from Archive.

How do you describe your art?

Some have asked… is this art accidental?
What is the math of the square?
Is math accidental?
No it is not!
Is the optical experience predictable?
Not always, but more so than most understand.
Is beauty universal?
Math, optics, color theory and a state of beauty — that is the search.
If not accidental, how is the infinite variety of line and shade made predictable?
Is a square predictable? A square limits variety, a square within a square limits variety again,
and seven grouped squares even more so.
What is the math of the square within a square?
Assigning color and shade to each of the grouped squares using color theory limits variety and produces predictable optical effect.
How many colors are red?
What is pure color? What is a shade? Can yellow be arranged on an adjacency matrix?
Is an adjacency matrix math?
So, some have asked…is this art accidental?
My question is more important – in your eye is this beauty?

Stanford Slutsky is an American artist, born in Pittsburgh, PA where at a young age he unearthed clay and started to make sculptures. In High school Stanford won numerous awards in jewellery designing and art. He moved to Florida 31 years ago where he became a full time working and producing artist. Most recent solo exhibitions to mention a few are, Coral Springs Museum of Art, The Ft Lauderdale Art Institute, Nathan D. Rosen Museum, Ft Lauderdale Museum of Art, and many more.

Did you study art? If so, where?

No. I am proud to say I am a self-taught artist. Being a visual person you could say I studied in the world of nature.

Why do you like Op Art?

As a child, magicians and magic acts fascinated me. There was something about the illusions they created that captured my imagination. I want that same vivid sense of illusions to be central in my artwork.

How do you make your art? Do you use a computer?

No computer. I use any devise I can to sketch the idea that is on my mind. Being a self taught artist I create the thing out of my imagination and one piece leads me to another. When I am creating is when I am at peace and the happiest.

What’s the process for making one of your artworks?

My most recent body of work is of mixed media. After sketching my idea I then start cutting wooden dowels or medium density fiberboard to the length and shape I desire and then start mixing acrylic paints to apply. The paint is applied after much sanding and priming of the wood.

Any other art you like and other artists that inspire or have inspired you?

I am inspired by Victor Vasarely and Yaccov Agam, but I appreciate all forms of art.

How would you describe your art?

Today, all of my artwork creates the illusion of three-dimensionality and movement. I achieve these effects by juxtaposing hard-edged color patterns that disrupt the normal process of vision. Some shapes of color may seem to advance and then recede and others appear to pulsate in waves. It is a passionate and painstaking, semi-scientific approach to painting and mixed media constructions based on the manipulation of optical devices, and one which depends on subtle color gradations, systematic chromatic harmonic lines and shapes.

You can find out more about Stanford and see more of his art on his website stanfordslutsky.com.

Stanford is represented in Florida by Vertu Fine Art.

Vertu Fine Art
5250 Town Center Circle
Suite 128
Boca Raton, Florida 33486
Tel.561.368.4680
Email:gary@vertufineart.com
Webpage: vertufineart.com

Polly Merredew is an artist living and working in the UK and we’re delighted to be presenting some of her work this month.  You can see more of Polly’s work on her Facebook page and website (which is currently being redone) via the links at the bottom of this page.

Did you study art? If so, where?

I studied Fine Art at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, achieving a BA (Hons) in Fine Art in 2003.

Why do you like Op Art?

I love colour and am fascinated with the way spatial depth and movement can be created by the use of colour relationships. I am interested in how the same composition can be used but changing the colours can create a very different outcome.

The idea of invoking a physical reaction or sensation in the viewer through clever use of colour intrigues me. Standing in front of a Bridget Riley painting makes me feel overwhelmed, inspired, and curious and excited…I want to make other people feel that way when they look at my work. I also like the fact that you don’t need any specialist art knowledge to enjoy Op Art and many people seem to either love it or hate it!

How do you make your art?

All my paintings are planned using paint and paper. I like working with materials, mixing the colours and producing something tangible that I can work with in planning the final piece.

A painting usually begins with an idea of the colour relationships that I would like to explore. From there I begin to mix colours, making swatches or colour charts that I can move around in order to investigate how the different colours will interact with each other.

Once I have an idea of how I might want the painting to work I go ahead and make it! This is quite a risky way of working as I really have no idea how the finished piece will look. This is part of the fun and excitement for me as things often happen that I cannot anticipate. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. I have several paintings that will never see the light of day in my studio!

What’s the process for making one of your artworks?

Once I have decided the final composition I will draw it up onto canvas. This can take hours as the measurements have to be so precise and I often have to draw and redraw to get it accurate. From there I will use tape to mask off certain areas and start to paint. I like to achieve clean lines between painted areas but will leave small marks to distinguish it as a handmade piece. Once I have painted the whole piece I will spend hours looking at it, repainting areas that I am not happy with until I am satisfied it is finished. I do find it hard to walk away – I’m such a perfectionist.

Any other art you like and other artists that inspire or have inspired you?

I love the work of many artists… to name a few: Ian Davenport, Polly Apfelbaum, Monet. I also stumbled across an artist called Piero Dorazio whilst on holiday in Greece a few years ago who totally inspired me.

I love designers such as Kaffe Fassett, Orla Kiely, Amy Butler and Cath Kidston who all work with colour and pattern in a bold and beautiful way.

What do you like doing outside of your artwork?

I just love being creative so will try my hand at anything. I love to sew, particularly patchwork and also make cards. I also have 2 small children who keep me extremely busy and inspire me every day with their wonder and awe at the world.

Contact details:

Email: polly_merredew [AT] btinternet.com
Website: www.pollymerredew.co.uk (currently under construction)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PollyMerredew

Tom Martinelli is an American artist, born in Queens NY who now lives and works in Galisteo, New Mexico.  Tom’s paintings have been widely exhibited.  Most recently he had a solo exhibition in the David Richard Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico which we wrote about here.  If you want to see more of Tom’s work (the series below was completed in the 1990s so there is a lot of newer work to be seen) then please visit his website.

Did you study art? If so, where?

School of Visual Arts as an undergrad and Hunter College for grad school… both in New York City. Much of my early learning came from studio assistantships with New York painters Sanford Wurmfeld and Gary Stephan.

Why do you like Op Art?

I appreciate optically based art as there can be a synesthesia – a heightened physical sense of one’s body in space. At moments even the auditory can be evoked. 

I’ve always been a fan of op art but as odd as it may seem, I never set out to make optical paintings. At the time I made these (mid to late ‘90’s) my idea was to make field paintings using modular units (the circles – based on the half tone dot)… creating a sense of expanse which when viewed from a distance could be perceived as a field.

How do you make your art? Do you use a computer in the process?

No computer – I use… stencils, acrylic paint and gel medium.

What’s the process for making one of your artworks?

For this body of work I used stencils to apply the paint. I attached grid paper onto rolled sheets of plastic to guide the process of punching circular holes. I use industrial hole punches and a mallet. Each stencil was the full size of the painting panel. Depending on the size of the hole and density of the pattern, this could be the most labor-intensive part of the work.

Paint application was rather swift. The canvas was treated as a single surface – basically like silk-screening. Much of the time I worked horizontally. Acrylic paint (with a lot of gel medium) was applied to the canvas through the stencil using hardware store plastering knives. At a certain point in the drying process the layers would be washed down with a wet brush to allow color from underlying layers to be selectively revealed.

A number of paint layers were applied. Each layer dried before the next was added. The color was almost always transparent and usually primary colors (red, yellow, blue) and secondary colors (orange, green, violet). The appearance of black or near-black was the result of the stacking or overlapping several layers of transparent color. The stencil process also gave each dot a thickened, raised surface and a dense material quality. A blurring of the circular boundaries was created by the slight shifting of the registration of the stencil, which yielded a color “halo” around the dots. The pattern of dots might suggest rigidity or perfect regularity but the color and dot placement was not entirely uniform. The paintings incorporate subtle, sometimes not so subtle, activity outside of the grid. In both painting and stencil making there was a place for irregularity, accident, and intuitive process responsive choices.

Any other art you like and other artists that inspire or have inspired you.

At the time I was interested in Morris Louis (especially the “veils”), Barnet Newman, Jasper Johns (in particular his “crosshatch paintings”), Larry Poons – but also common newsprint and industrial offset printing gone astray – early pop too, Rauchenberg’s work with silkscreen. I’ve always been a big Agnes Martin fan. My meditation practice is always a part of the creative process in ways not easily defined.

When was this series of works created?

I did these painting when I lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the 1990s. I currently live in the desert in rural New Mexico. 

Thanks a lot to Tom for working with us on this.

Fabrizio is a graphic designer and artist living near to Florence in Italy.  Until 2003 he worked as a surveyor before retraining in graphic design at the International School of comics.  Fabrizio creates an interesting mix of Op Art and strong poster art style graphics, often using just three strong colours (black, red and white).

Did you study art? If so, where?
I was a surveyor. In 2003 I moved to Florence, where I studied graphic design at the International School of Comics.

Why do you like Op Art?
Maybe because it combines symmetry and art and I am fascinated by the way you can invoke emotion through that combination. I like the way op art contains a depth which isn’t immediately apparent. In my opinion op-art should allow the viewer to project their own interpretation onto the piece. (The more you look, the more you see.) I like the idea of people getting lost in a piece.

How do you make your art?
Generally I take inspiration in moments of boredom or relaxatio – for example the shower is a good place. As to which tools I use – I start with a good old fashioned paper and pencil, then I scan it in and rework it with Adobe Illustrator.

What’s the process for making one of your artworks?
The more detailed process of actually creating the artwork within Adobe Illustrator involves measuring and transposing various elements to create a type of symmetry. If I were to print it, I’d do so on wood so as to introduce a certain texture.

Any other art you like and other artists that inspire or have inspired you.
Escher first and foremost. I was very inspired by work I saw while holidaying in Aix in Provence at the Vasarely foundation. I’m also inspired by the protest art of Shepard Fairey.

Outside of Op Art, what else do you enjoy doing?
I love music, movies and see exhibitions. I like Indie / Punk / Rock music, some of my favourite bands include The Clash and Queens of the Stone Age. I enjoy films by M. Scorsese and P.T. Anderson.

You can see more of Fabrizio’s work on his flavors.me web page and additionally on his behance profile.