Marc Cavell
(1911-1989)

“Painting is animating a flat surface; animating a flat surface is giving rhythm to a space.”. Albert Gleizes, La peinture et ses lois, 1924.

Marc Cavell, whose real name was Michael Canter, was born in London in 1911. He studied painting at the School of Arts and Crafts and exhibited for the first time in 1936 at the Whitechapel Art Gallery before moving to Paris in the late 1930s to further his artistic education.

His early works displayed a figurative style influenced by Cézanne, and gradually evolved towards post-cubist forms as Cavell worked under the guidance of Albert Gleizes.

As a curious and eclectic artist, he became passionate about the endless possibilities of optical and kinetic art in the mid-1950s. He explored the concepts of movement and light as artistic materials. Between 1955 and 1966, he embarked on a true experiment focused on light and movement, which became the central elements of his work. Through light reflections on metallic surfaces (steel blades) or through translucent materials (plexiglass), he harnessed the changing effects of light to bring his works to life, offering infinite aesthetic and emotional possibilities

Experimenting with various formats, Cavell’s works, thanks to light, created a play of shadow and transparency, sometimes in color, which vibrated, intersected, and intermingled on the surface of the canvas. These “light sculptures” are open compositions that invite the viewer to contemplate, thus becoming an active participant in the artwork, capable of influencing their perception based on their position. None of Cavell’s works are static, and each viewer may see abstract motifs as waves, urban landscapes, or even architectural forms.

Marc Cavell passed away in 1989, and his works are now preserved in numerous institutions around the world, such as the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the French Ministry of Culture, the German Ministry of Culture in Stuttgart, and the University of Bremen.

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Work of Marc Cavell

Untitled

Marc Cavell, 1966

Painting

Marc Cavell, 1966

Large Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1972

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1974

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Stabile

Marc Cavell, circa 1960

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1972

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Red Sinusoid

Marc Cavell, 1972

Blue Sinusoid

Marc Cavell, 1969

Blue Sinusoid

Marc Cavell, 1972

White Sinusoid

Marc Cavell, 1971

White Sinusoid

Marc Cavell, 1973

White Sinusoid

Marc Cavell, 1973

White Sinusoid

Marc Cavell, 1972

Goutte

Marc Cavell, 1971

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, ca 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1972

Ellipse Panel

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1972

White Building

Marc Cavell, 1972

Building

Marc Cavell, 1973

Red Building

Marc Cavell, 1968

Fakir

Marc Cavell, 1974

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1976

Ruban

Marc Cavell, 1969

Kinetic Board

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Mobile

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1971

Domino

Marc Cavell, 1972

Op Art

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1973

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1974

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1974

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1974

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Op Art

Marc Cavell, 1969

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1963

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1963

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1963

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1977

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, 1960

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1967

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1962

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1964

Gouache

Marc Cavell, circa 1960

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1964

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1960

Painting

Marc Cavell, 1966

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1964

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1970

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1967

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1963

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1977

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1981

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1970

Gouache

Marc Cavell, 1980

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, 1977

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, 1977

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, 1977

Watercolor

Marc Cavell, circa 1970