If you like this sort of thing, there is a whole movement called “Op Art” you should check out[1]. People like Bridget Riley in particular. I saw the big Riley exhibition at the Tate in 2003 and it was fantastic. They had this enormous one-off piece that had been specifically created for this exhibition on the first wall you encountered as you went in. It was basically a massive very bright white wall with a quite spacious grid of 3/4 circles in black. The gap in each circle was rotated as you looked across and up and down the wall. It was such a perculiar optical effect it made your brain hallucinate colours and movement in this purely static, black and white piece.
I knew Bridget Riley’s work a bit before going into the exhibition because she was one of the visual artists you learn about when you study 20C music, and so I had seen a few of these op art pieces, but I never expected an illusion to work so well on such a huge scale.
I saw the major retrospective at the Heywood. Spending a few hours with all the 60s illusion paintings really does do a number on you...
The works that most pleased me most were the later colourful wall paintings like Rajastan (2012). Painting directly on the gallery walls makes for an interesting copyright / art-as-property type question. I guess her team has to repaint them wherever they are shown and must oversee their destruction too. Feels like there could be a Star Trek transporter glitch type issue and whoops, we now have two Rajastan (2012)'s.
Bridget Riley is an absolute master! I saw that exibit too and it actually got me into making generative art (Riley isn't generative art, but there's some obvious similarities).
I always found it fun that she really wasn't happy with how that 3d piece worked out, so went back to flat canvas for the rest of her career. I'm with you though, I thought it was amazing.
I knew Bridget Riley’s work a bit before going into the exhibition because she was one of the visual artists you learn about when you study 20C music, and so I had seen a few of these op art pieces, but I never expected an illusion to work so well on such a huge scale.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op_art