Physichromie 1772,

2012

This unique work of art is from a series that Cruz-Diez called “physichromies”—an invented term that calls attention to the question that both defined this body of mixed-media sculptural reliefs and fueled his life’s work: in what ways can various arrangements of color alter one’s experience of physical space? He approached each work as an experiment, creating color adjacencies and compositions of interlocking geometric forms that shift in arrangement as the viewer moves, observing the work from different distances and angles. Evolving his technique over years, Cruz-Diez achieved this effect here by printing stacked lines of color around the U-shaped profile of each thin aluminum module. Depending on conditions of light, distance, refraction through translucent PVC inserts, and intersections with a layer of diagonal black bands, various colors and patterns appear to the viewer. Physichromies demand the active participation of the audience—the full range of compositions within the work can only be seen as one views it from multiple positions.