1906-1997
Victor Vasarely was born in Hungary in 1908 and died in Paris in 1997. Vasarely was the most important representative of the ephemeral optical art or Op Art movement. From 1928 to 1930, he was influenced by abstract art and Russian constructivists as well as the Budapest Bauhaus. In the era of technical reproductivity, he aspired to give a strictly scientific and theoretical basis to his art. In 1930, he moved to Paris where he worked mainly as a graphic designer.
In 1944, Victor Vasarely returned to painting and tried to combine the results of his systematic observations on optical illusions with his idea of art. Performing variations on geometric abstraction, he ended up using his own optical modules that he eventually patented. He wanted his art to be reproduced in as many mediums as possible. His first kinetic paintings were introduced in the 1950s. From 1955 onwards, he experimented with wall panels in metal and ceramic, mainly for the construction of buildings in Paris. The most creative illustrator of Op Art, Vasarely used brightly coloured geometric shapes in different combinations, to give the impression of fluctuating movement. His style was approved by other artists and his legacy was promoted by the Vasarely Foundation, which was inaugurated in Aix-en-Provence in 1976 (it closed down in 1996), and the Vasarely Center in Oslo, which opened in 1982.
Victor Vasarely produced many prints, his first prints be created in 1950s. Most of Victor Vasarely’s prints were screen prints though he also created silkscreen prints and lithography prints. All of Victor Vasarely prints are original prints as Vasarely saw printmaking as a distinct medium to create artworks.
