Anuszkiewicz was born in
Erie, Pennsylvania, the son of Victoria (Jankowski) and Adam Anuszkiewicz, who worked in a
paper mill. His parents were
Polish immigrants. He first studied art under
Joseph Plavcan while still in high school, later describing him as his most significant influence. Anuszkiewicz trained at the
Cleveland Institute of Art in
Cleveland,
Ohio (1948–1953), and then with
Josef Albers at the
Yale University School of Art in
New Haven, Connecticut (1953–1955), where he earned his Masters of Fine Arts. While at Yale, Anuszkiewicz was roommates with a fellow abstract painter of Polish descent and a student of Albers,
Julian Stanczak. He was one of the leading figures in the
Op Art movement during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.
Victor Vasarely in France and
Bridget Riley in England were his primary international counterparts. In 1964,
Life magazine called him "one of the new wizards of Op". While reflecting on a New York City gallery show of Anuszkiewicz's from 2000,
New York Times art critic
Holland Cotter described Anuszkiewicz's paintings: "The drama — and that feels like the right word — is in the subtle chemistry of complementary colors, which makes the
geometry glow as if light were leaking out from behind it." Anuszkiewicz exhibited at the
Venice Biennale,
Florence Biennale and
Documenta, and his works are in permanent collections internationally. He was elected into the
National Academy of Design in 1992 as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1994. == Style ==