Hashim Samarchi (Iraqi, b. 1939)

Considered to be one of the most prominent Op artists in Iraq along with Mehdi Moutashar (who left for Paris in the 1960s), Hashim Samarchi adopted a visual style that allowed him to stand out from the other groups such as the One Dimension and the New Vision. Focusing entirely on limited colours and geometrical forms composed of repeated lines and interwoven circles, rectangles and triangles to create optical illusions, Samarchi's works open up to reveal an unexpected sense of beauty that dazzles in reality.