Jerry Pethick (Canadian, 1935-2003) was a visual artist who bridged artistic and scientific fields through an immersive study of optics and perception. Pethick’s lifelong interest in technology and the possibilities of visual perception led to experiments with unconventional materials in his art practice such as plastics and lenticular lenses. A key strategy in his experimentation was obscuring perspective, either through lenses or sculptural assemblages, which was reflective of his critique of modernism and linear progress. Pethick’s work gained popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, as it aligned with many counterculture concepts including alternative experiences of reality, op-art and mysticism. A graduate of Chelsea Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art in London, UK, Pethick’s work has been exhibited internationally, including shows at the Vancouver Art Gallery (1979, 1984), the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (1989), Centre International d’Art Contemporain Montréal (1992) and the Toronto Sculpture Garden (1993). A major survey of his work was exhibited posthumously at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2015.