Vasarely created “startlingly precise, often hallucinatory images producing a kind of optical vibration on the surface.”
His paintings exploit “illusion as a function of sensory response”—the work operates directly on perception through systematic manipulation of colour and geometry.
UNTITLED, 1954
Naissances, 1954, deep kinetic object, plexiglass, silk screen
MORA, 1954/1960, deep kinetic object, silk screen on plexiglas, glass & steel
Untitled/squares & circles
Bora III, 1964
Method
Vasarely’s Alphabet Plastique system created an “algorithmic concept that forms the basis of its structure” independent of any single painting—the work could be “decoded through its mathematical structure” and rebuilt.
Unités, 1967
Optical sculpture, circa 1970
Norma , 1962-1979
Science/Theory
Vasarely translated quantum physics into visual terms: “by following the successive steps of the processes of development of the unit-particle-wave, we arrive at the human phenomenon. Art can no longer have a divine explanation, just a beautiful and very materialistic one.”
The retrospective notes “the viewer has a role equal to that of the artist in the aesthetic process.” The paintings produce “aggressive elements” that “prevent a static comprehension”—forcing the eye into continuous resolution of competing visual information.
Fondation Vasarely Tupa, 1972-1975
Untitled, 1978
Eroed-Pre , 1978
Yllus, 1978
V.P. 102 , 1979
Universe at Selfridges London, 2022
All quotes from: Vasarely Retrospective, by Robert C Morgan.
Majority of images from artblart.com.
Reflections & learning
- I especially like his early work—the simple monotone colours and uniformity
- As with Soto, Vasarely uses plexiglas to develop and give more dimensionality to his drawings, and this is something I’m inspired to experiment with
- Some of the imagery has a bindu (centre point) effect, acting as a modern day yantra of sorts