o.T. (Diagonaler Bruch), 1963 – 1964

About the Work

With its combination of geometry and Op Art, the painting irritates and provokes the eye. The stripes of colour rammed one against the other cause optical tension, while a diagonal cuts the composition in half. A dynamic spatial structure emerges from the surface and the painting opens up to the surrounding space. Its form is no longer dictated by the underlying square of the picture support; rather, the energised bands of colour virtually break through the formerly closed surface. They turn the small work into the first European ‘shaped canvas’ – a painting whose contour is derived from its composition.