Vásárhelyi Győző, the artist's real name (Pécs, Hungary, April 9, 1906 – Annet-sur-Marne, France, March 15, 1997). He studied medicine in Hungary, but left the career after two years. He then became interested in abstract art and Bauhaus teaching in Budapest. He moved to Paris in the early 1930s and worked there as a graphic designer. In this city he developed his first major work, Zebra, which is considered today the first work of Op art.
He worked in advertising and decoration until 1940. He held his first exhibition at the Denise René gallery, to which he would always remain connected. His work is based on geometric abstraction and the interaction of colors to create a sense of movement and he was the greatest representative of op-art.
In 1955 he published his Yellow Manifesto, a theory about two-dimensional plastic art and kinetic art. Vasarely developed his own model of geometric abstract art, using various materials but using a minimum number of forms and colors. His work gave him international fame and he received several prestigious awards.
This piece, property of the Provincial Council of Alicante, extends its stay at the MACA as an invited piece, as part of the kinetic space of the 20th Century Art Collection, where another work by this Hungarian artist is exhibited: "Kroa B", 1971 (sculpture in anodized and polychrome metal).
The sensation of movement is the common element of the works that make up this Room. The mutual, physical and emotional relationship established between the viewer and the work is a mouvement émouvant [moving movement], as Vasarely describes it in 1955: the works are living bodies that are reflected in the moving body of the viewer and enter into relationship with him, making him a participant.
Vásárhelyi Győző, the artist's real name (Pécs, Hungary, April 9, 1906 – Annet-sur-Marne, France, March 15, 1997). He studied medicine in Hungary, but left the career after two years. He then became interested in abstract art and Bauhaus teaching in Budapest. He moved to Paris in the early 1930s and worked there as a graphic designer. In this city he developed his first major work, Zebra, which is considered today the first work of Op art.
Working in advertising and decoration until 1940, he held his first exhibition at the Denise René gallery, to which he would always remain associated. His work is based on geometric abstraction and the interaction of colors to create a sense of movement and he is the greatest representative of op-art. In 1955 he published his Yellow Manifesto, a theory about two-dimensional plastic art and kinetic art. Vasarely developed his own model of geometric abstract art, using various materials but using a minimum number of forms and colors. His work gave him international fame and he received several prestigious awards.
The Vasarely Museum in Hungary contains an important collection of his works, as well as many other artists of Hungarian origin who have worked abroad. He is the father of artist Yvaral, author of works in that same style.
If the idea of plastic art had so far resided in artisanal management and in the myth of the "unique work", it now lies in the conception of a possibility of RECREATION, of MULTIPLICATION and of EXPANSION. •
Does the immense dissemination of literary or musical work occur to the detriment of its uniqueness and quality? • The majestic chain of the fixed image in two dimensions goes from Lascaux to the abstract works… the future holds for us the happiness of a new plastic beauty, in movement and moving.
