Victor Vasarely ^©
(1906 - 1997)

Atome, 1977

Signed Vasarely lower right and on the reverse

Acrylic on canvas

cm 80x80

Numbered on the reverse 2956

Title, dimensions and date of execution on the reverse

Stamp on the reverse: Vasarely Center / 1015 Madison Avenue / New York, N. Y. 10012 / 212 744-2332

Provenienza: Vasarely Center, New York, as stated by the stamp on the reverse;

Private collection

The work will be included in the next catalogue raisonné of paintings by Victor Vasarely, curated by Pierre Vasarely, curator of the Fondation Pierre Vasarely

Thanks to Pierre Vasarely, curator of the Fondation Pierre Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence, for having confirmed by e-mail the authenticity of the work

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Victor Vasarely (Pécs, 1906 - Paris, 1997), Hungarian by birth but French by adoption, is unanimously considered the father of the Op (Optical) Art, a form of abstract art that generates optical illusions to promote the perception of movement and a general instability of perception in the viewer.

The important work of 1977 presented here is a perfect example of the representations on canvas of the famous "Yellow Manifesto", written by the artist on the occasion of his exhibition of 1955 at the Galerie Denise René in Paris "Le Mouvement"in which are contained his theories concerning movement, figuration, series reproduction of geometric shapes and the use of complementary colors. The series "Atome" perfectly embodies the innovative stylistic language and the most avant-garde research of Vasarely that, from the late 60s to all the 70s, has deeply influenced pop culture, architecture, computer science and design to the present day. In the 1970s, the period of greatest success and diffusion for Optical art, and of course also for its founder and major exponent, the work proposed here is realized.

Vasarely writes about his art: «My plastic units: the multicolored circles, the squares, are the counterpart of the stars, atoms, cells and molecules, but also of the grains of sand, pebbles, flowers and leaves...» with a clear connection to the poetics of the series "Atome" and to the work published here, where the flat surface of the canvas becomes an infinite series of kinetic possibilities, the viewer suffers all the charm and strength, The painting transcends the boundaries of the canvas by entering the surrounding environment, deceiving the eye of the observer and suggesting an idea of movement and dynamism. (Based on Victor Vasarely inspired Steve Jobs?", by Laura Canali, Limes Magazine, 4 March 2021).