Richard Joseph Anuszkiewicz (/ˌɑːnəsˈkeɪvɪtʃ/; May 23, 1930 – May 19, 2020) was an Americanpainter,printmaker, andsculptor.[1] The son of Polish immigrants, he developed a geometric style.
He was one of the leading figures in theOp Art movement during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.[6]Victor Vasarely in France andBridget Riley in England were his primary international counterparts. In 1964,Life magazine called him "one of the new wizards of Op".[7] While reflecting on a New York City gallery show of Anuszkiewicz's from 2000,New York Times art criticHolland Cotter described Anuszkiewicz's paintings: "The drama — and that feels like the right word — is in the subtle chemistry of complementary colors, which makes thegeometry glow as if light were leaking out from behind it."[6] Anuszkiewicz exhibited at theVenice Biennale,Florence Biennale andDocumenta, and his works are in permanent collections internationally. He was elected into theNational Academy of Design in 1992 as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1994.
U.S. PresidentLyndon Baines Johnson and U.S. SenatorJ. William Fulbright inspect "Squaring the Circle", a bright red 1963 painting by Richard Anuszkiewicz, at the 1965 White House Arts Festival.
Anuszkiewicz was concerned with the optical changes that occur when different high-intensity colors are applied to the same geometric configurations. Most of his work comprises visual investigations of formal structural and color effects, many of them nested square forms similar to the work of his mentorJosef Albers. In his series, "Homage to the Square", Albers experimented with juxtapositions of color, and Anuszkiewicz developed these concepts further. Anuszkiewicz continued to produce works in the Op Art style over the subsequent decades of his career.
In 1963, Anuszkiewicz summarized his approach to painting as: "My work is of an experimental nature and has centered on an investigation into the effects of complementary colors of full intensity when juxtaposed and the optical changes that occur as a result, and a study of the dynamic effect of the whole under changing conditions of light, and the effect of light on color."[8]
Anuskiewicz exhibited in many public collections around the world, including such New York galleries as Sidney Janis, The Contemporaries,[4] and theAndrew Crispo Gallery.
Anuszkiewicz, Richard and Karl Lunde. "Anuszkiewicz." New York: H.N. Abrams (1977).ISBN0-8109-0363-6
Alviani, Getulio, Margaret A. Miller and Giancarlo Pauletto. "Richard Anuszkiewicz: Opere 1961-1987." Pordenone: Centro Culturale Casa A. Zanussi (1988).
Buchsteiner, Thomas and Ingrid Mossinger. "Anuszkiewicz Op Art." Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Publishers (1997).ISBN978-3-7757-0671-1
Kolva, Jeanne, Maxine Lurie (ed.) and Marc Mappen (ed.).Anuszkiewicz, Richard. "Encyclopedia of New Jersey." New Brunswick: Rutgers University (2004). 9780813533254
Madden, David and Nicholas Spike. "Richard Anuszkiewicz: Paintings & Sculptures 1945-2001: Catalogue Raisonné." Florence: Centro Di Edizioni (2010).ISBN978-88-7038-483-3
Price, Marshall N. "The Abstract Impulse: fifty years of abstraction at the National Academy, 1956-2006." Manchester: Hudson Hills Press (2007).ISBN978-1-887149-17-4
Ratliff, Floyd, Neil K. Rector and Sanford Wurmfeld. "Color Function Painting: The Art of Josef Albers, Julian Stanczak and Richard Anuszkiewicz." Winston-Salem: Wake Forest UJohn Gruen (September, 1979). "Richard Anuszkiewicz: A Beautiful Discourse with Space". ARTnews. University Fine Arts Gallery (1996).ISBN0-9720956-0-8
Gruen, John (September, 1979). "Richard Anuszkiewicz: A Beautiful Discourse with Space". ARTnews: 68, 69, 72, 73, 74.
