Vasarely, Victor (1908-1997) - 1959-61 Supernovae (Tate Collection, Great Britain)
Victor Vasarely was an acknowledged leader of the Op Art movement, and his innovations in color and optical illusion have had a strong influence on many modern artists. He was born in Pecs, Hungary in 1906. After receiving his baccalaureate degree in 1925,, he transferred to the Muhely Academy, also known as the Budapest Bauhaus, where he studied with Alexander Bortnijik. At the Academy, he became familiar with the contemporary research in color and optics by Jaohannes ltten, Josef Albers, and the Constructivists Malevich and Kandinsky. In 1947, Vasarely discovered his place in abstract art. He concluded that "internal geometry" could be seen below the surface of the entire world. He conceived that form and color are inseparable. "Every form is a base for color, every color is the attribute of a form." Forms from nature were thus transposed into purely abstract elements in his paintings.
After his first one-man show in 1930, at the Kovacs Akos Gallery in Budapest, Vasarely moved to Paris. For the next thirteen years, he devoted himself to graphic studies. His lifelong fascination with linear patterning led him to draw figurative and abstract patterned sub .ects, such as his series of harlequins, checkers, tigers, and
zebras. During this period, Vasarely also created multi-dimensional works of art by super-imposing patterned layers on one another to attain the illusion of depth. In 1943, Vasarely began to work extensively in oils, creating both abstract and figurative canvases. His first Parisian exhibition was the following year at the Galerie Denise Rene that he helped found. Vasarely became the recognized leader of the avant-garde group of artists affiliated with the gallery.
Vasarely, Victor (1908-1997) - 1959-61 Supernovae (Tate Collection, Great Britain)
Victor Vasarely was an acknowledged leader of the Op Art movement, and his innovations in color and optical illusion have had a strong influence on many modern artists. He was born in Pecs, Hungary in 1906. After receiving his baccalaureate degree in 1925,, he transferred to the Muhely Academy, also known as the Budapest Bauhaus, where he studied with Alexander Bortnijik. At the Academy, he became familiar with the contemporary research in color and optics by Jaohannes ltten, Josef Albers, and the Constructivists Malevich and Kandinsky. In 1947, Vasarely discovered his place in abstract art. He concluded that "internal geometry" could be seen below the surface of the entire world. He conceived that form and color are inseparable. "Every form is a base for color, every color is the attribute of a form." Forms from nature were thus transposed into purely abstract elements in his paintings.
After his first one-man show in 1930, at the Kovacs Akos Gallery in Budapest, Vasarely moved to Paris. For the next thirteen years, he devoted himself to graphic studies. His lifelong fascination with linear patterning led him to draw figurative and abstract patterned sub .ects, such as his series of harlequins, checkers, tigers, and
zebras. During this period, Vasarely also created multi-dimensional works of art by super-imposing patterned layers on one another to attain the illusion of depth. In 1943, Vasarely began to work extensively in oils, creating both abstract and figurative canvases. His first Parisian exhibition was the following year at the Galerie Denise Rene that he helped found. Vasarely became the recognized leader of the avant-garde group of artists affiliated with the gallery.