Carlos Cruz-Diez (Caracas, Venezuela, 1923 - 2019) was one of Venezuela's most influential painters, sculptors, and educators, whose work spanned social realism, kinetic art, and the phenomenology of color. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Caracas from 1940 to 1945, also becoming a qualified teacher. During this period, he worked as an illustrator for Creole Petroleum Corporation Esso and later served as art director for McCann-Erickson advertising agency until 1951. In 1946, he won first prize at the Cartel de Alfabetización contest in Caracas.

Cruz-Diez held his first solo exhibition in 1947 at the Venezuelan-American Institute and traveled to New York for further training in advertising. In the following years, he won several awards at the Venezuelan Art Salon and participated in the II São Paulo Biennial, returning in subsequent editions, earning awards at the IX Biennial.

From 1954, his focus shifted toward the exploration of optical color phenomena, abandoning figurative art. While living in Barcelona between 1954 and 1956, he began his research on kinetic art, which eventually led to the creation of his "Fisiocromías" series. In 1957, he returned to Venezuela, where he founded the Estudio de Artes Visuales and became an illustrator for the Ministry of Education and the Mene magazine. Until 1960, he taught at the Caracas School of Fine Arts and the Central University of Venezuela.

In 1960, Cruz-Diez moved to Paris, where he continued his artistic career. He participated in significant exhibitions, including the XXXI Venice Biennale in 1962 and 1970, and the "Lumière et Mouvement" exhibition alongside artists like Jesús Rafael Soto and Julio Le Parc. In France, in 1969, he won second prize at the International Painting Festival in Cagnes-sur-Mer.

During the 1970s, he developed iconic series such as "Color Aditivo," "Inducciones Cromáticas," "Cromointerferencias," and "Cabinas de Cromosaturación." He also taught at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Paris and served as director of the International Institute of Advanced Studies in Caracas.

In 1992, he participated in major international exhibitions, including "Latin American Art of the Twentieth Century" in New York and "L’Art en Mouvement" at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. In 1997, he was named lifetime president of the Fundación Museo de la Estampa y del Diseño Carlos Cruz-Diez. He donated a monumental sculpture to Havana in 1999 to celebrate the anniversary of the Casa de las Américas.