Hugo Demarco

Hugo Demarco (13 July 1932—28 November 1995) was an Argentine-born French painter associated with the kinetic (op art) and Nouvelle Tendance movements. His work created "very active structures, in spite of the simplicity of their patterns" by using form, color, texture, and rhythm, including color degradation and chromatic contrasts, to create movement. Not long after, in 1959, he moved to Paris with Julio Le Parc and Horacio García Rossi, his former classmates, to join the French art scene. Demarco was featured in two documentaries within the Nouvelle Tendance movement: Le mouvement and Lumière et mouvement (1967).

In June 1968, Demarco, Le Parc, and Costa Rican artist Juan Luis Rodriguez Sibaja were on their way to a pro-union demonstration in Flins when Demarco and Le Parc were arrested by the French military police. At this time, France was in a state of discontent and student protests were worrying the government, who thought they may go as far as civil war. During their absence, a number of foreign artists threatened to leave the country. The expulsion, however, gave Demarco and Le Parc the attention they were looking for as artists and suddenly found themselves in demand. He died in the Aubervilliers area of Paris on 28 November 1995.