Francis Celentano

Seattle artist Francis Celentano’s latest exhibition The Gemini Series presents mesmerizing images that further cement his position in the history of and resurgent interest in Op Art. In this show, Celentano’s acrylic paintings involve the concept of overlapping two identical patterns, and reorienting. He explored the pattern relationships initially using a computer program, and then migrating the designs to his paintings. The series evolves from the intersection of grey and white patterns, to a transformation through a variety of color ranges including blues, greens and reds.   As a whole, The Gemini Series of fused patterns generates a dramatic tension in a variety of ways expressed differently by each painting. Celentano moved to Seattle from New York in the 1960s to become Professor of Painting at the University of Washington. It is here he began to develop his interest in color theory.  Rather than using color in a traditional manner, in depicting something else, he immersed himself in its theories, developing ideas in hard edge painting and optical art. Resonance can be found between his work and that of other notable Op artists like Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely.