In October 1964, in an article describing this new style of art, Time Magazine coined the phrase "Optical Art", as it's known more commonly Op Art. The term was used because Op Art is made up of illusion, and appears to the human eye to be moving or breathing due to its precise, mathematically-based composition.
Although the term was coined and the exhibition held in the mid-1960s, most people who've studied Op-Art agree that Victor Vasarely pioneered the movement with his 1938 painting Zebra. M. C. Escher- whose style has sometimes caused him to be listed as an Op artist created works with amazing perspectives that has helped point the way for others, and it can be argued that none of Op Art would've been possible without the prior Abstract and Expressionist movements that did not rely on subject matter.
Although the term was coined and the exhibition held in the mid-1960s, most people who've studied Op-Art agree that Victor Vasarely pioneered the movement with his 1938 painting Zebra. M. C. Escher- whose style has sometimes caused him to be listed as an Op artist created works with amazing perspectives that has helped point the way for others, and it can be argued that none of Op Art would've been possible without the prior Abstract and Expressionist movements that did not rely on subject matter.