Julio Le Parc
Mural: Virtual Circles (Mural: Círculos virtuales)1964-1966

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Turmoil and Optimism in Latin America

Large multi-panel folding screen with bold black and off-white cutout pattern of repeating circles and semicircles, displayed in a gallery

Large freestanding sculptural screen in a black metal frame, composed of multiple vertical panels printed with a repeating geometric pattern of black and white circles, semicircles, and arcs, leaning against a white gallery wall.

Three-dimensional relief construction in a black frame, composed of vertical columns displaying repeating black and white circular and crescent forms that shift in appearance across the surface, creating an optical illusion of depth and movement when viewed at an angle.

Large-scale installation of three tall vertical panels with bold black and white geometric pattern of repeating concentric circles and interlocking curved forms, creating a strong op art effect.

Close-up of a paneled surface with a repeating geometric pattern of large white circles and semicircles against black vertical bands, creating a bold op art effect in black and white.

Close-up of a multi-panel geometric composition in black and white, featuring repeating circles and curved forms separated by vertical white dividers, with panels receding into soft focus at left.

Large-scale op art panel installation in black and white, composed of repeating circles, ovals, and curved forms arranged in vertical columns with aluminum framing, creating an optical illusion of depth and movement.

Installation of angled panels printed with repeating black and white geometric pattern of oval and hourglass forms, creating optical depth as the panels recede; thin aluminum framing visible between sections.

Multi-panel folding screen with bold black and white geometric pattern of repeating ovals, circles, and hourglass forms arranged in vertical columns across hinged panels.

Large-scale abstract composition in black and white, with repeating curvilinear forms — oval cutouts and undulating bands — arranged in a grid-like pattern across angled panels meeting at a corner.

Large-scale abstract composition in black and white, with bold organic curves and oval forms creating rhythmic vertical bands across multiple panels meeting at a corner.

Photograph of a large-scale panel installation with a repeating geometric pattern of circles, semicircles, and oval cutouts in black and white, arranged in vertical columns separated by metal strips.

Close-up of a curved surface with a bold repeating geometric pattern of large white circles and hourglass shapes on a deep navy ground, with a thin horizontal gold line visible near the top.

Multi-panel folding screen with bold black and white geometric pattern of repeating circles and curved forms, with a thin gold horizontal line visible across the panels.

Close-up of a ceramic or enamel surface with a repeating bold geometric pattern of large white circles and semicircles on a black background, arranged in a grid across vertical panels with a glossy finish.

Folding screen with repeated geometric pattern of large white circles and semicircles on a black ground, separated by vertical metal strips creating a rhythmic, op-art effect.

Artist or Maker: Julio Le Parc
Argentina, Mendoza, active France, Paris, born 1928
Title: Mural: Virtual Circles (Mural: Círculos virtuales)
Place Made: France, Paris
Date Made: 1964-1966
Medium: Wood, aluminum, stainless steel, polished metal
Dimensions: Installation: 80 1/2 × 165 1/4 × 14 in. (204.47 × 419.74 × 35.56 cm); a-g): 80 1/2 × 23 3/4 × 14 in. (204.47 × 60.33 × 35.56 cm) each
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Debbie and Mark Attanasio, Jane and Marc Nathanson, Jane and Terry Semel, The Loreen Arbus Foundation, Janet Dreisen Rappaport and Herb Rappaport, an anonymous donor, Alyce Woodward Oppenheimer, and the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund through the 2013 Collectors Committee
Accession Number: M.2013.115a-g
Classification: Installation Art
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Julio Le Parc’s Mural: Virtual Circles is a playful optical-kinetic work that requires the viewer’s participation to come to life. Seen from the front, it is deceptively static but becomes fully activated with just the slightest shift in the viewer’s position. The construction is surprisingly plain: it consists of seven wood boxes with patterned laminate placed on the interiors, which is then distortedly reflected onto curved sheets of polished metal. Despite its simplicity, the work is visually complex and almost scientific in its conception. Seriality, the manipulation of pattern across the surface, and the use of new materials were key elements to generate a democratic “plastic kinetic adventure,” which was essential for Le Parc.

Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Le Parc moved to Paris in 1958. Soon after his arrival, he met Victor Vasarely (1906–1997), the French-Hungarian leader of the Op art movement; in 1960, along with five international artists working in Paris, Le Parc founded the Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (Group for Visual Art Research, or GRAV). Rejecting the concept of the artist as a solitary genius and the elitism of traditional art, the group emphasized a more collective, human way of experiencing art. The idea was to engage the “human eye”—as opposed to the “intellectual eye”—and to make art more socially accessible and relevant. GRAV’s goal was to transform the viewer from a passive, contemplative observer into an active participant. One way to destabilize traditional perceptions of art was to create works that “moved”—literally, through the use of modern technology and the addition of mechanical devices, or virtually, through the eye of the viewer. Mural: Virtual Circles was exhibited by the celebrated art dealer Denise René (1913–2012) in 1968, and included in various exhibitions as paradigmatic of GRAV’s interactive and experimental works.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Selected Bibliography: Brodsky, Estrellita B. Form Into Action: Julio Le Parc. Miami: Pérez Art Museum Miami; Munich: DelMonico-Prestel, 2016.
Copyright: © Julio Le Parc / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Related Unframed

Julio Le Parc
Mural: Virtual Circles (Mural: Círculos virtuales)1964-1966

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Turmoil and Optimism in Latin America

Artist or Maker: Julio Le Parc
Argentina, Mendoza, active France, Paris, born 1928
Title: Mural: Virtual Circles (Mural: Círculos virtuales)
Place Made: France, Paris
Date Made: 1964-1966
Medium: Wood, aluminum, stainless steel, polished metal
Dimensions: Installation: 80 1/2 × 165 1/4 × 14 in. (204.47 × 419.74 × 35.56 cm); a-g): 80 1/2 × 23 3/4 × 14 in. (204.47 × 60.33 × 35.56 cm) each
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Debbie and Mark Attanasio, Jane and Marc Nathanson, Jane and Terry Semel, The Loreen Arbus Foundation, Janet Dreisen Rappaport and Herb Rappaport, an anonymous donor, Alyce Woodward Oppenheimer, and the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund through the 2013 Collectors Committee
Accession Number: M.2013.115a-g
Classification: Installation Art
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Julio Le Parc’s Mural: Virtual Circles is a playful optical-kinetic work that requires the viewer’s participation to come to life. Seen from the front, it is deceptively static but becomes fully activated with just the slightest shift in the viewer’s position. The construction is surprisingly plain: it consists of seven wood boxes with patterned laminate placed on the interiors, which is then distortedly reflected onto curved sheets of polished metal. Despite its simplicity, the work is visually complex and almost scientific in its conception. Seriality, the manipulation of pattern across the surface, and the use of new materials were key elements to generate a democratic “plastic kinetic adventure,” which was essential for Le Parc.

Born in Mendoza, Argentina, Le Parc moved to Paris in 1958. Soon after his arrival, he met Victor Vasarely (1906–1997), the French-Hungarian leader of the Op art movement; in 1960, along with five international artists working in Paris, Le Parc founded the Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel (Group for Visual Art Research, or GRAV). Rejecting the concept of the artist as a solitary genius and the elitism of traditional art, the group emphasized a more collective, human way of experiencing art. The idea was to engage the “human eye”—as opposed to the “intellectual eye”—and to make art more socially accessible and relevant. GRAV’s goal was to transform the viewer from a passive, contemplative observer into an active participant. One way to destabilize traditional perceptions of art was to create works that “moved”—literally, through the use of modern technology and the addition of mechanical devices, or virtually, through the eye of the viewer. Mural: Virtual Circles was exhibited by the celebrated art dealer Denise René (1913–2012) in 1968, and included in various exhibitions as paradigmatic of GRAV’s interactive and experimental works.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Selected Bibliography: Brodsky, Estrellita B. Form Into Action: Julio Le Parc. Miami: Pérez Art Museum Miami; Munich: DelMonico-Prestel, 2016.

Related Unframed

The Modern Latin American Art Galleries—A Small Makeover, Some Recent Acquisitions

May 17, 2017
Ilona Katzew