Energy is one of the most striking elements of work by Jesus Soto, and his experiments with optical effects are representative of some of the most successful of the Op Art-Kinetic Art movements. Soto's work, however, surpasses the mere exploitation of optical effects, and he intends in his paintings a concentration of energy, which attains a point where the paintings become a mirage, kinesthetically like a mental tension.

Soto's use of the moire effect plays a prominent role in his early works of transition from the tradition of hard-edge abstraction founded by Modrian to the more fluid expression he presently uses. The influence of Modrian's balancing of lines and composition can be found in Soto's work, with Soto's adde...