Roman Opalka

Roman Opalka (1931–2011) was a Polish-French conceptual artist best known for his monumental life's work OPALKA 1965/1–∞, a series of canvases on which he painted consecutive numbers from one to infinity in white paint on a progressively lightening grey background. Beginning in 1965, he devoted his entire artistic practice to this single obsessive project, which served as a meditation on the passage of time, mortality, and the finite nature of human existence. His work is held in major international collections and commands significant prices at auction houses including Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips.