Born in Caracas in 1921, Carlos Cruz-Diez first studied art at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas y Aplicadas from 1940 to 1945. His earliest work represented his social concerns and reflected the prevalent social inequalities of the decade. In 1954, largely influenced by the advent of Modernism in Venezuela, Cruz-Diez created his first abstract and interactive projects, he followed in 1955 with a series of "Objetos rítmicos móviles" leading to the creation of his first Physichromie in 1959. He moved to Paris in 1960, where he met Argentine artist Luis Tomasello, and members of the Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel, along with the ebullient Op-Art artistic scene of the times. He participated in a series of transcendental international exhibits in Europe and the Americas. Cruz-Diez is a leading Kinetic and Op artist, and still remains the greatest proponent of this movement. He is represented in museums worldwide, and is considered a pioneer of colour theory and perception.