Cinetic Composition 1968

Almir Mavignier made this ‘Cinetic Composition’ using ink, probably screenprint I’m guessing, to create something which is both very flat and yet suggests movement. The dots are pretty uniform, but it’s how they are laid out that gives the piece it’s juice. There is something so compelling in the way the bands of colour change in tone, like there is something slightly off, just enough to make you question what you're seeing. You’re never quite sure if you are looking at the same colour twice. Take that band of green in the middle, the colour vibrates, doesn’t it? The relationship between the dots themselves, their careful placement, generates an optical illusion that makes the artwork pulse. It reminds me of Bridget Riley’s work, though maybe a little more playful? Both artists make the most of the interplay between colour and repetition, inviting us to really look, and then look again.