Victor Vasarely

Hungarian-French, 1906–1997

4.5k followers

Victor Vasarely

Bio

Hungarian-French, 1906–1997

Followers
4.5k
Biography

Considered one of the progenitors of Op Art for his optically complex and illusionistic paintings, Victor Vasarely spent the course of a long, critically acclaimed career seeking, and arguing for, an approach to art making that was deeply social. He placed primary importance on the development of an engaging, accessible visual language that could be universally understood—this language, for Vasarely, was geometric abstraction, more commonly known as Op Art. Through precise combinations of lines, geometric shapes, colors, and shading, he created eye-popping paintings, full of the illusion of depth, movement, and three-dimensionality. More than pleasing tricks for the eye, Vasarely insisted, “pure form and pure color can signify the world.”

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Career Highlights
Learn more about artist insights.
Established
Established representation
Represented by industry leading galleries.
User
Solo show at a major institution
Centre Pompidou
Group
Group show at a major institution
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and 8 more
Institution
Collected by a major institution
Tate, and 1 more
Publication
Reviewed by a major art publication
Artforum, and 2 more
Fair
Included in a major biennial
Venice Biennale International Exhibition, and 1 more
Biography

Considered one of the progenitors of Op Art for his optically complex and illusionistic paintings, Victor Vasarely spent the course of a long, critically acclaimed career seeking, and arguing for, an approach to art making that was deeply social. He placed primary importance on the development of an engaging, accessible visual language that could be universally understood—this language, for Vasarely, was geometric abstraction, more commonly known as Op Art. Through precise combinations of lines, geometric shapes, colors, and shading, he created eye-popping paintings, full of the illusion of depth, movement, and three-dimensionality. More than pleasing tricks for the eye, Vasarely insisted, “pure form and pure color can signify the world.”

Career Highlights
Learn more about artist insights.
Established
Established representation
Represented by industry leading galleries.
User
Solo show at a major institution
Centre Pompidou
Group
Group show at a major institution
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and 8 more
Institution
Collected by a major institution
Tate, and 1 more
Publication
Reviewed by a major art publication
Artforum, and 2 more
Fair
Included in a major biennial
Venice Biennale International Exhibition, and 1 more
Shows Featuring Victor Vasarely
Articles Featuring Victor Vasarely
19 Collectors on the Art They Bought in 2020
Nov 24th, 2020
19 Collectors on the Art They Bought in 2020
How Op Artists of the 1960s Created Their Hallucinatory Effects
Aug 21st, 2018
How Op Artists of the 1960s Created Their Hallucinatory Effects
The Neuroscience of Op Art
May 27th, 2016
The Neuroscience of Op Art
Galerie Thomas At 50 Years: An Interview with Founder Raimund Thomas
Oct 2nd, 2014
Galerie Thomas At 50 Years: An Interview with Founder Raimund Thomas
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