Felice Varini is an artist who paints on or in architectural elements in a way that creates the illusion of a flat pattern or object where one does not actually exist.
The illusion is visible only from one specific angle; when viewed from other points, you can see the fascinating series of markings that make up the piece. He paints on the outside of buildings, inside of rooms, in corridors, across walls, skylights, doors and archways, often creating the illusion of a physical object in space in the middle of an open area. His patterns are frequently optical patterns themselves, creating a sensation of Op Art by way of Christo.
At first it looks as if the pattern might be Photoshopped onto the image until you see the views from other perspectives; then the remarkable finesse with which Varini has created his patterned spaces becomes apparent. This work in particular is remarkable for it’s scale (not quite Christo scale, but pretty amazing nonetheless) in which he creates his illusory pattern across the space of a city street using painted markings on multiple buildings.
I learned about this from the gravestmor blog, which has a brief overview with a few sets of images. The Felice Varini site itself is harder to navigate, but worth the trouble. See my “Site Quirks” notes below.
Link via gravestmor.
