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Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

OP ART STYLE

The Op art movement emerged in the 1960s, mirroring the counterculture of the time in its embrace of visual trickery, graphic shapes and bright colors.

Spreading across Europe and the Americas, the style — whose name is short for “optical art” — influenced advertising, fashion and interior design before fading in the early ’70s.

Op art remained significant, however, for artists and scientists interested in the nature of perception. And today, it’s seeing a resurgence of interest from collectors and interior designers.

Op artists played with the principles of perception, manipulating line, shape, patterns and color to create the illusion of depth and movement. They drew on and evolved methods developed by past movements, from Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism, to produce intense visual experiences.

All the Op artists shared a focus on the gap between what is and what we perceive. Each, however, had a distinct approach to the issue and a unique visual style.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of Op art that includes works by Josef Albers, Bridget Riley, Jesús Rafael Soto and more.

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Style: Op Art
3D Render Mountain Landscape, Handmade Cyanotype in Deep Blue Tones, Minimal
3D Render Mountain Landscape, Handmade Cyanotype in Deep Blue Tones, Minimal

3D Render Mountain Landscape, Handmade Cyanotype in Deep Blue Tones, Minimal

By Kind of Cyan

Located in Barcelona, ES

This is an exclusive handprinted limited edition cyanotype. Contemporary linear cyanotype showing a 3D mountain terrain. Details: + Title: 3D Render Mountain + Year: 2021 + Edition ...

Category

2010s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

C Print, Lithograph, Paper

Brutalist Op Art Abstract Charcoal Drawing by Dordevic Miodrag
Brutalist Op Art Abstract Charcoal Drawing by Dordevic Miodrag

Brutalist Op Art Abstract Charcoal Drawing by Dordevic Miodrag

Located in Atlanta, GA

Serbian artist Dordevic (or Djordjevic) Miodrag (1936 -), known as "Miodrag," designed this stunning abstract drawing. This work is a charcoal on paper depicting a brutalist abstract...

Category

1960s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal

Owl, Circa 1970 - Op Art-Inspired Geometric Composition
Owl, Circa 1970 - Op Art-Inspired Geometric Composition

Owl, Circa 1970 - Op Art-Inspired Geometric Composition

Located in Firenze, IT

Owl, Circa 1970 - Op Art-Inspired Geometric Composition Date: Approximately 1970 Medium: Gouache on cardboard with embossed stamp Dimensions: H 64 cm x W 49 cm approx. A stylized o...

Category

Late 20th Century Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Illustration Board, Cardboard

Oscillation
Oscillation

Oscillation

By Roy Ahlgren

Located in Fairlawn, OH

11 color screen print Signed, dated, titled and numberedin pencil Edition: 150 (9/150) Provenance: Estate of the Artist By Decent

Category

1980s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Screen

Untitled Op Art Drawing, Pantone Ink on Archival Paper, 1999, Unframed
Untitled Op Art Drawing, Pantone Ink on Archival Paper, 1999, Unframed

Untitled Op Art Drawing, Pantone Ink on Archival Paper, 1999, Unframed

By John Kalymnios

Located in White Plains, NY

'Untitled' by John Kalymnios, 1999. Pantone ink on paper, 78.5 x 51.25 in. (framed). This geometric op art drawing features bands of concentric circles with the full spectrum colors ...

Category

1990s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Archival Paper

Geometric Color Grid - Op Art Composition
Geometric Color Grid - Op Art Composition

Geometric Color Grid - Op Art Composition

Located in Soquel, CA

Highly precise op-art composition by an unknown artist. A grid of colored squares has been created with various colors, divided by occasional diagonal lines that give the feel of ove...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Untitled V, Op Art Abstract Geometric Pencil Drawing David Roth
Untitled V, Op Art Abstract Geometric Pencil Drawing David Roth

Untitled V, Op Art Abstract Geometric Pencil Drawing David Roth

By David Roth

Located in Long Island City, NY

This colored pencil drawing was created by American artist David Roth. Roth's images are proportioned according to a strict mathematical formula - the pictures are composed according...

Category

1970s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Color Pencil

Related Items
Geometric Color Grid - Op Art Composition
Geometric Color Grid - Op Art Composition

Geometric Color Grid - Op Art Composition, 21st Century

$360Sale Price|20% Off

H 19.75 in W 19.75 in D 1 in

Geometric Color Grid - Op Art Composition

Located in Soquel, CA

Highly precise op-art composition by an unknown artist. A grid of colored squares has been created with various colors, divided by occasional diagonal lines that give the feel of ove...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Monument in the Fertile Country Oversize print 40x30 inches Limited Edition
Monument in the Fertile Country Oversize print 40x30 inches Limited Edition

Monument in the Fertile Country Oversize print 40x30 inches Limited Edition

By (after) Paul Klee

Located in London, GB

Monument im Fruchtland (Monument in the Fertile Country) 1929. after Paul Klee, 1879 – 1940 Original work : Pastel, 47.5 × 34.8cm. Bern, Zentrum Paul Klee. (Photograph via Archiv...

Category

1920s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Archival Pigment

Italian Abstract Work on Paper Color Field Non-Objective European Mid-Century
Italian Abstract Work on Paper Color Field Non-Objective European Mid-Century

Italian Abstract Work on Paper Color Field Non-Objective European Mid-Century

By Piero Dorazio

Located in New York, NY

Italian Modern Abstract Work on Paper Color Field Non-Objective European Mid-Century - "Gonage" Dorazio completed "Gonage" in 1949 when just after the artist had been awarded a stipend by the French government and admission to the Academy Beaux Arts. There he met George Braque who became great friends but also an influence on Dorazio, of which "Gonage" is a living testament. "Gonage" actual size of the drawing measures 12 x 9 1/2 inches. It is signed on the lower right. The work is affixed to a 19 x 15 inch board which includes the artist's signature and date. There is a torn table on the lower left entitling the piece "Gonage". Provenance follows this piece as a gift in 1950 to the artist-colleague Luigi Lucioni, who then gifted it in 1955 to his friend, the uncle of the current owner who has owned the work since 1988. Bio Born in Italy, Piero Dorazio studied architecture in Rome. At the same time his first abstract works were executed. In 1947 he received a scholarship from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he contacted Modern artists, who lived in Paris. He founded the galleries "Age d'Or" in Florence and Rome to represent avant-garde arts in Italy. During a one year stay in the USA he got acquainted with leading artists of Abstract Expressionism such as Marc Rothko...

Category

1940s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Board

Original-Benton Irises in Starry Night-Le Bleu-Awarded Woman Artist-Gold Leaf
Original-Benton Irises in Starry Night-Le Bleu-Awarded Woman Artist-Gold Leaf

Original-Benton Irises in Starry Night-Le Bleu-Awarded Woman Artist-Gold Leaf

By Shizico Yi

Located in London, GB

This Gold Leaf and Oil on paper, named Benton Irises in Starry Night is a part of Le Bleu Series by award winning British artist Shizico Yi. She created the painting in her garden p...

Category

2010s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

A 1950s Mid-Century Modern Pastel Monoprint "Edgartown Harbor" by Francis Chapin
A 1950s Mid-Century Modern Pastel Monoprint "Edgartown Harbor" by Francis Chapin

A 1950s Mid-Century Modern Pastel Monoprint "Edgartown Harbor" by Francis Chapin

By Francis Chapin

Located in Chicago, IL

A dynamic, unique Mid-Century Modern monoprint of a sailing regatta in Martha's Vineyard, "Edgartown Harbor", by notable Chicago Modern artist Francis Chapin. Lithograph on paper wi...

Category

1950s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Pastel, Lithograph, Paper

Cool August - Abstract Pattern Lines Drawing Fruit Blue Green, 2024
Cool August - Abstract Pattern Lines Drawing Fruit Blue Green, 2024

Cool August - Abstract Pattern Lines Drawing Fruit Blue Green, 2024

By Sarah Morejohn

Located in Kent, CT

In this meticulously detailed contemporary drawing in ink and watercolor on paper, carefully drawn dots and lines in blue, green, red, orange and pink create an intricate composition...

Category

2010s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Coloured Print of Photorealist Painting of Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland
Coloured Print of Photorealist Painting of Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland

Coloured Print of Photorealist Painting of Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland

Located in Preston, GB

Coloured Print of Photorealist Painting of Gleneagles Golf Course in Scotland by 20th Century Scottish Artist, Graeme Baxter, entitled 'The Gleneagles Hotel, Monarch's Course'. Art measures 14 x 10 inches Frame measures 19 x 15 inches Coloured Print on High Quality Paper Signed on the Front Glazed & Mounted Good Condition Frame (commensurate with age) Graeme Baxter is the official artist to some of the world's most important golf tournaments, such as The Ryder Cup...

Category

1990s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Color, Giclée

Fletcher Benton - Balanced/Unbalanced #120 watercolor signed titled 25/25 framed
Fletcher Benton - Balanced/Unbalanced #120 watercolor signed titled 25/25 framed

Fletcher Benton - Balanced/Unbalanced #120 watercolor signed titled 25/25 framed

By Fletcher Benton

Located in New York, NY

Watercolor on paper Pencil titled, editioned and signed with name and printed signature Pencil numbered 25/25 This work is floated in it's original vintage wood frame under UV plexi...

Category

1980s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

French Abstract - Saxophone Player
French Abstract - Saxophone Player

French Abstract - Saxophone Player, 2000

$250

H 20 in W 16 in D 0.1 in

French Abstract - Saxophone Player

Located in Houston, TX

French abstract emanating halos of jazz vibrations from repeating images of a saxophone player, 2000s. Original artwork on paper displayed on a white mat with a gold border. Mat fit...

Category

Early 2000s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Untitled II Abstract Composition, Mixed Media on Board, Framed, 2018
Untitled II Abstract Composition, Mixed Media on Board, Framed, 2018

Untitled II Abstract Composition, Mixed Media on Board, Framed, 2018

By Erez Yardeni

Located in London, GB

'Untitled II' abstract composition, mixed media on soft board, Japanese ink, oil, pencil and gouache by Erez Yardeni (2018). There is so much energy in th...

Category

2010s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Ink, Oil, Gouache, Board, Pencil

Previously Available Items
Agam Original Marker Drawing Colorful Spirals Hand Signed Israeli Kinetic Op Art
Agam Original Marker Drawing Colorful Spirals Hand Signed Israeli Kinetic Op Art

Agam Original Marker Drawing Colorful Spirals Hand Signed Israeli Kinetic Op Art

By Yaacov Agam

Located in Surfside, FL

Yaacov Agam, Israeli (b. 1928) Hand signed and dated This is a great example of bold, graphic, mod design. Along with Reuven Rubin and Menashe Kadishman he is among Israel's best kn...

Category

1990s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Archival Paper, Permanent Marker

Geometric Composition (Minimalism, Constructivism)
Geometric Composition (Minimalism, Constructivism)

Geometric Composition (Minimalism, Constructivism)

By Hannes Forster

Located in Kansas City, MO

Hannes Forster Geometric Composition (Minimalism, Constructivism) Medium: Graphite Drawing Unique Year: 1991 Size: 11.7 × 8.2 inches Signed and dated by hand COA Provided Hannes Forster (* 1955 in Tuttlingen ) is a German artist. Forster graduated in 1979 from the College of Arts Berlin , where he was one of Herbert Kaufmann...

Category

1990s Op Art Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Graphite

Op Art drawings and watercolor paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Op Art drawings and watercolor paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add drawings and watercolor paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, pink and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Cheolyu Kim, David Roth, Roy Ahlgren, and John Kalymnios. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Paper and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Op Art drawings and watercolor paintings, so small editions measuring 11.25 inches across are also available. Prices for drawings and watercolor paintings made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $450 and tops out at $35,000, while the average work sells for $2,000.