The "Chromosaturation" (1965), by Carlos Cruz-Diez, is seen at the Pavillon de France during the Expo 2020 in Dubai, UAE, in this 2021 photo. Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center

Mesmerizing artworks by Carlos Cruz-Diez, a Venezuelan-born pioneer of optical and kinetic art in the late 20th and 21st centuries, are captivating art fans in Seoul with his contributions to color theory and practice.

The Korean tour of the global project "Cruz-Diez — RGB, The Colors of the Century," marking the 100th anniversary of the late artist's birth, is currently on display until Sept. 18. According to the exhibition's organizer, the Seoul Arts Center, it will focus more on the RGB color model and the principle of light, which permeates the artist's research, in addition to the works exhibited in the existing project.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1923, Cruz-Diez combined artistic creativity and scientific curiosity to create his own artistic world. The artist's innovative work on color experiments and light manipulation made him a household name. He is also well-known to Korean art fans due to his 1988 installation "Physichromie Double Face" at the Olympic Park in Seoul and "Spirale Virtuelle," a 2001 installation at the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

Visitors walk around the "Couleur à l'espace," meaning "color in space" in French, at the Jeonbuk Art Museum in North Jeolla Province in this 2012 photo. Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center

Since 2023, the Centre Pompidou and the Cruz-Diez Foundation have been actively organizing various events and exhibitions to shed new light on the life and artistic achievements of Cruz-Diez, in order to honor the artist's centenary.

This project at the Centre Pompidou originated from an exhibition conceived by the artist himself in 2014. The project features installation works filled with the special lighting of the three primary colors. They include "The Chromosaturation" (1965), an artificial environment composed of three colored chambers, one blue, one red and one green that immerse the visitor in a completely monochrome situation, the two-dimensional works of "Couleur Additive" (Additive Color), "Couleur à l'espace" (Color in Space) and "Induction Chromatique" (Chromatic Induction) as well as an interactive software program and "Interactive Chromatic Random Experience," which enables visitors to directly touch and manipulate the artwork.

For the Korean tour of the exhibition, the artist's signature series "Induction du Jaune Korea" (Induction of Yellow Korea) and "Environnement Chromointerférent" (Chromointerference Environment), which projects a pattern of moving lines onto the entire space using a projector to enrich the audience's experience, have been added to the existing exhibition.

"I have always wanted to throw color beyond its support and project it into the universe ... Color is autonomous, fleeting, perpetually moving. Color is like life: a permanent present," the legendary contemporary artist once said.

Cruz-Diez's work is based on color theory and the theory of light, but his art is more than just a scientific experiment, providing the audience with a true artistic experience. The exhibition "Cruz-Diez — RGB, The Colors of the Century" explores the artist's scientific analysis and research on the process of perceiving light and color. This exhibition is open at the Hangaram Art Museum in Seoul Arts Center in Seoul.

Carlos Cruz-Diez's artworks are displayed during "RGB, The Colors of the Century" at Rainbow Space in Shanghai, China, in this 2023 photo. Courtesy of Seoul Arts Center