Victor Vasarely

VICTOR VASARELY (Pécs, Hungary, 1906 – Paris, 1997).
Untitled, 1985.
Black-and-white silkscreen print on paper, edition 27/150.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Measurements: 65 x 41.5 cm (image); 76 x 56 cm (paper).

The strict reduction to black and white allows Vasarely to focus the work’s entire power on rhythm, geometric transformation, and the illusion of depth. The composition suggests a system of forces in constant expansion and contraction. The upper forms appear to rotate on their own axes, while the horizontal lines curve as if subjected to the pull of invisible bodies. The artist thus transforms a flat surface into a dynamic space, in which each module perceptually alters those around it. The precision of the silkscreen technique reinforces the sharpness of the outlines and the intensity of the optical effects.

Victor Vasarely was a key figure in geometric abstraction and one of the leading proponents of Op Art. Trained at the Mühely studio in Budapest, which was inspired by the principles of the Bauhaus, he settled in Paris in 1930. His work is represented in institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Tate, as well as at the Fondation Vasarely in Aix-en-Provence.