Jesus Raphael Soto
Jesús Raphael Soto is one of the most important artists of Venezuela. In terms of style, the oeuvre of Jesús Raphael Soto, which started out with an early period of creation coined by Impressionism and Cubism, can be ascribed to Op Art. Accordingly, his work comprises serial sequences and structures of reduced geometrical forms, which offer the eye of the beholder surprising optical effects, as they create motion within the image. Additionally, his works are characterized by their plain monumentality that allows the observer to immerse. In a later period of creation, Jesús Raphael Soto added wires and rods to the paintings that dominated his earlier works, thus the optically imitated motion became materialized. This step brought his works closer to Kinetic Art. This principle was eventually brought to perfection in his monumental installations. The fascinating artworks by Jesús Raphael Soto are in possession of the world's most renowned museums and collections, such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.