Victor Vasarély
French, born Hungary, 1906 - 1997Untitled (from ‘Permutations Suite’), 1966
Not on view
Serigraph on paper
Dimensions26 3/4 × 26 3/4 in. (67.9 × 67.9 cm)
Image: 23 3/4 × 23 3/4 in. (60.3 × 60.3 cm)
Museum purchase through the Acquisition Fund, 1969.24
This wall features a number of works from the Op Art movement. Op, or Optical, art typically uses abstract patterns to produce effects that confuse and excite the eye. To many, this style seemed perfect for an age defined by scientific and technological advances. For Vasarély printmaking was a perfect medium because it could produce smooth, flat surfaces with hard edges.
French artist Victor Vasarély is often credited with having created the Op Art movement. He was influenced by 20th-century French painter, Auguste Herbin, who created a system in which letters corresponded to a specific color or geometric form. The system, known as Alphabet Plastique, became part of Vasarély’s artistic oeuvre. His system was based on a grid that used a circle, square, and triangle that fit one into another. Here a circle of one color is placed within a square of another color. Each unit has a different color and Vasarély used the variegated color combinations to create optical illusions and to provide the viewer with the feeling of kinetic energy, depth, and space.
