Influenced by the work of Jes煤s Rafael Soto, Carlos Cruz-D铆ez began studying the physical properties of color, developing his own theories during the 1950s, which he puts to practice as of 1959 with his 鈥淧hysichromies鈥�.



This 鈥淧hysichromie鈥� is a diptych composed of metal and acrylic paint. The artist essentially uses three pastel colors: blue, pink, and yellow. With these colors as his starting point, he fractures the form of the painting, transforming a flat, painted surface into a succession of vertically positioned, parallel lines.

These alternating and discontinuous geometric shapes emerge, intensify, change, and dematerialize, depending on the position and the movement of the spectator. The work is thus inscribed in an interpretation of movement and transformation, visually provoked by the thin bands of painted metal lines. In this manner, the painter reveals the vibration of light and the infinite variety of colors perceptible in his inert images.

Artist Biography

Carlos Cruz-D铆ez, a Venezuelan painter and kinetic artist, was born on August 17, 1923 in Caracas (Venezuela). He studied at the School of Fine Arts of Caracas, where he later taught History of Applied Arts.

As of the 1950s he was extremely interested in optical phenomena; while experimenting with primary colors arranged in thin intersecting bands, he realized that he could create the illusion of a third or fourth color that was, in reality, not present. From then on, Cruz-Diez based his work on a 鈥渘on-traditional understanding of color鈥�. Cruz-D铆ez moved to Paris in 1960, exhibiting his 鈥淧hysicromies鈥� in 1969, as part of his first personal exhibition.

In addition to these works, Cruz-D铆ez created a variety of architecturally-integrated works in Europe and Latin America, including his 鈥淭ranschromies鈥� (1967) for the city of Caracas, or, in 1977, a chromatic environment for a hydroelectric power station in Guri, Venezuela. The Cruz-D铆ez Foundation was founded in 1995 in Houston (Texas, USA).

Cruz-D铆ez鈥檚 works show his focus on color and the various tricks of perception and simultaneity that can be created by the interplay between certain chromatic juxtapositions and light.

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