Critic Pierre Restany first used the term Nouveau Ré in 1960 to describe an eclectic body of work by such artists as Cé, Raymond Hains, Yves Klein, Martial Raysse, Jean Tinguely, and Jacques de la Villeglé Their work, which ranges from lacerated posters and assemblages of junk materials to monochrome painting and images of popular culture, finds common ground in an antipathy toward the introspective abstraction of Art Informel, Tachisme, and Abstract Expressionism. These artists chose instead to explore the gritty culture of everyday life.

César
Ricard
1962
 Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne

By comparison, Pop art refers to a more narrowly defined movement focused specifically on popular culture that emerged in Great Britain and flourished in the United States. James Rosenquist and Andy Warhol, for example, appropriated images from advertising and the mass media, while Roy Lichtenstein adapted the look of comic strips for his paintings. Claes Oldenburg transformed everyday objects into crudely plastered wall pieces or soft sculptural masses.

John Chamberlain
Dolores James
1962
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Pop art has its roots in the Neo-Dada art of Jasper Johns and others, and Nouveau Ré is also sometimes considered a precursor. Through irony and wit, Pop art simultaneously celebrates and critiques popular culture.