Untitled (Gemusterte Plastikfolie, Streifen) 1966

This piece by Konrad Lueg presents clean parallel lines on what appears to be plastic foil, mounted on a grey surface. I can imagine Lueg, armed with his squeegee, carefully applying each stripe. The lines make this odd form, like a cut-out from a larger something. There is also the circle, or is it a hole? This piece reminds me of Bridget Riley’s Op Art, but it has a more handmade feel. I wonder what Lueg was thinking as he made this. Maybe he was thinking about the way we see and how our eyes can play tricks on us. Maybe he was thinking about how to make something that was both simple and complex. In the world of painting, everyone builds on what came before, and I appreciate seeing Lueg in this conversation.