“GEORGES LENFANT x DURAZZO” explores Op Art, or optical art, through a simple idea: a work only fully exists when it is activated by the gaze of the person looking at it. Neither illusion nor mere ornament, optical art places perception at the centre of the artistic experience.
In his essay, Raphaël Durazzo traces the research on perspective and colour that fed this movement, from the Renaissance to the avant-gardes of the twentieth century. From the Russian Constructivists to Sonia Delaunay, from Marcel Duchamp to the great names of kinetic art, he shows how Op Art brings together currents long thought of separately. He invites us to see the movement for what it is: a celebration of perception and the return of the viewer to the heart of art.
This dialogue between the eye and the work continues in the jewelry of the French house Georges Lenfant, founded in 1899. In the late 1960s, Jacques Lenfant transposed the language of Op Art to the scale of a piece of jewelry with the Optical collection. The contrasts between brushed and polished gold, matte and shiny, make light vibrate and create optical effects that come to life when the piece is worn.
This dialogue between Op Art and jewelry was also at the heart of our booth at PAD London 2026, presented from 13 to 18 October at Berkeley Square. Discover our participation in PAD London 2026.
