Victor Vasarely

Victor Vasarely was born in 1906 in Pécs, Hungary, and became one of the founders of Kinetic and Op Art. After studying at Mühely, the Academy of Painting based on Bauhaus teachings, in Budapest in 1929, he immigrated to France in 1930. His early career included commercial work at Havas advertising agency and Draeger print house during what became known as his “Graphic” period from 1929 to 1946, when he explored light, shadow, and contrast in works like The Zebras (1938).
Between 1947 and 1958, during his “Belle-Isle” period named after his favorite French vacation spot, Vasarely achieved true abstraction through geometric compositions inspired by beach pebbles. His “Black and White” period from 1950 to 1965 developed the fundamental concepts of Op Art using only these two colors. In 1965, he participated in the landmark “Responsive Eye” exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art, which was dedicated exclusively to Optical Art.
Throughout his career, Vasarely created more than one hundred commissioned monumental architectural works and had over one hundred solo exhibitions worldwide. He established his foundation in 1976 in Aix-en-Provence, where his inspiration Cezanne had lived and painted. Vasarely, who is represented by Park West Gallery, passed away on March 15, 1997, at age 91, leaving behind a revolutionary legacy that transformed modern art.