Julian Stanczak was included in the 1965 show that put Op Art on the map: “The Responsive Eye” at the Museum of Modern Art. Though he shares themes and even shapes with other artists who were in that show, such as Bridjet Riley and Richard Anuszkiewicz, his paintings reach beyond the simple manipulation of shapes for visual tricks.

Stanczak projects an energetic vision in his paintings that generates vibrant geometric forms. Though he produced black and white paintings, the largest portion of his work uses the delicate and intricate contrasts of colors as a major theme and implement. An elegant simplicity appears in his latest work, but that work draws on and depends on the persistent process of bringing a vision into recognizable forms from the very beginning of his career.

Stanczak has led an extraordinarily eventful life. He labored in Siberia during World War I and began taking art lessons in British Uganda. He had his first solo exhibition in Kenya in 1948 before settling in the United States. He taught for 31 years at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

Stanczak’s work is found in collections of major museums, including:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Museum of Fine Art, Boston
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee,
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ