Victor Vasarely

Hungarian, 1906-1997
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**ADDITIONAL PAINTINGS BY THE ARTIST CURRENTLY IN INVENTORY. PLEASE CONTACT GALLERY FOR DETAILS.**
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Victor Vasarely's innovations in color and optical illusion have had a profound influence on contemporary art.  He is in the vanguard of contemporary artists who seek new ways to bring beauty and reality closer together, and his goal is to create art that becomes an integral part of everyday life and the environment.

The artist was born in Pecs, Hungary, in 1908.  After receiving his baccalaureate degree in medicine, he began studying art at the Podolini-Volkmann Academy in Budapest.  In 1929, he transferred to the Muhely Academy, also known as the Budapest Bauhaus.  There he became familiar with contemporary research in color and optics by Johannes Itten, Josef Albers and the Constructivists Malevich and Kandinsky.

After his first one-man show in Budapest in 1930, Vasarely moved to Paris, the art center of the world.  He established a successful business as a graphic draftsman, developing his fine art in the evenings after work.

In 1943, Vasarely began to work extensively in oils, creating both abstract and figurative canvases.  His first Paris exhibition occurred the following year at Galerie Denise René, which he helped to found.  Vasarely became the leader of the avant-garde group of important artists affiliated with the gallery.

During the 1950s, Vasarely wrote a series of manifestos on the use of optical phenomena for artistic purposes. These were a significant influence on younger artists.  According to Vasarely, "In the last analysis, the picture-object in pure composition appears to me as the last link in the family 'paintings,' still possessing by its shining beauty, an end in itself. But it is already more than a painting. The forms and colors which compose it are still situated, on the plane, but the plastic event which they trigger fuses in front of and in the plane. It is thereby an end, but also a beginning, a kind of launching pad for future achievements."

In 1955, Galerie Denise René hosted a major group exhibition in connection with Vasarely's painting experiments with movement. This was the first important exhibition of kinetic art; in addition to art by Vasarely, it included works by Yaacov Agam, Pol Bury, Soto and Jean Tinguely, among others.  Most Americans were first introduced to Vasarely by the groundbreaking exhibition, "The Responsive Eye," at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1965.  The show confirmed Vasarely's international reputation as the father of Op art.

The artist has madenumerous monumental sculptures and murals, including works for the Students' Residential Center of Caracas; Faculté des Sciences, Marseille-Saint-Jerome; University of Bonn; Padagogische Hochschule, Essen; University of the Ruhr, Bochum; Maine-Montparnasse Station, Paris; Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Montpellier; and Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Vasarely has received numerous important awards and honors, including the Guggenheim Prize, New York; Painting Prize, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; Grand Prize, Eighth Biennial of Art, Sao Paulo; Medal of Honor, Aix-en-Provence; Gold Medal, Milan Triennial; Foreign Ministers' Prize, Tokyo Biennale; and Certificate of Distinction and Presidential Citation, New York University. In 1970, Vasarely was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor in France.  He has received an honorary Ph.D. from Cleveland State University and is an honorary professor at the School of Applied Arts, Budapest, as well as an honorary citizen of New Orleans and Villeparisis, France.

Among the many major books which have been written on Vasarely are Vasarely, A Survey of His Work by Jean Clay, Victor Vasarely by Abraham Moles, Vasarely by Gaston Diehi, Vasarely et le Cinetisme by Michael Ragon, Vasarely I-IV by Victor Vasarely and Vasarely by Werner Spies.

The artist's works are included in almost every museum in the world which has a collection of contemporary art. Major museums in Gordes and in Aix-en-Provence, France; in Pecs, Hungary; and a wing of the Zichy Palace, Hungary are devoted exclusively to the art of Vasarely.

In 1989, Victor Vasarely visited the United States for the first time in many years to participate in the gala openings of two major Vasarely retrospective exhibitions at Circle Gallery-Soho, New York and Circle Gallery, Chicago.

Guggenheim Prize, New York, New York

Painting Prize, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Grand Prize, Eighth Biennial of Art, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Medal of Honor, Aix-en-Provence, France

Gold medal, Milan Triennial, Italy

Foreign Minister's Prize, Tokyo Biennale, Japan

Certificate of Distinction and Presidential Citation, New York University, New York

Knight, Legion d'Honneur

Galerie Denise René, Paris, France, 1944

Galerie Denise René, Paris, France, 1955

The Responsive Eye, Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, 1965

Vasarely Retrospective, Circle Gallery-Soho, New York, 1989

Vasarely Retrospective, Circle Gallery, Chicago, 1989

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York

Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Tare Gallery, London, England

Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, California

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Musee d'Art Moderne, Paris, France

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan

Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.

Jewish Museum, New York, New York

Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Texas

New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana

St. Louis City Art Museum, Missouri

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania

Dordrecht Museum, Holland

Musee Boymans, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Gemente Museum, Le Havre, Holland

Art Gallery, University of Manchester, England

Ulster Museum, Belfast, Ireland

Musee Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium

Musee de Leverkusen, Germany

Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany

Musee d'Art Moderne, Basel, Switzerland

Museum of Vienna, Austria

Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Denmark

Museum of Art, Skopje, Yugoslavia

Jerusalem Museum, Israel

Tel Aviv Art Museum, Israel

Museum of Art, Berlin, Germany

Calvert Museum, Avignon, France

Victor Vasarely's innovations in color and optical illusion have had a profound influence on contemporary art.  He is in the vanguard of contemporary artists who seek new ways to bring beauty and reality closer together, and his goal is to create art that becomes an integral part of everyday life and the environment.

The artist was born in Pecs, Hungary, in 1908.  After receiving his baccalaureate degree in medicine, he began studying art at the Podolini-Volkmann Academy in Budapest.  In 1929, he transferred to the Muhely Academy, also known as the Budapest Bauhaus.  There he became familiar with contemporary research in color and optics by Johannes Itten, Josef Albers and the Constructivists Malevich and Kandinsky.

After his first one-man show in Budapest in 1930, Vasarely moved to Paris, the art center of the world.  He established a successful business as a graphic draftsman, developing his fine art in the evenings after work.

In 1943, Vasarely began to work extensively in oils, creating both abstract and figurative canvases.  His first Paris exhibition occurred the following year at Galerie Denise René, which he helped to found.  Vasarely became the leader of the avant-garde group of important artists affiliated with the gallery.

During the 1950s, Vasarely wrote a series of manifestos on the use of optical phenomena for artistic purposes. These were a significant influence on younger artists.  According to Vasarely, "In the last analysis, the picture-object in pure composition appears to me as the last link in the family 'paintings,' still possessing by its shining beauty, an end in itself. But it is already more than a painting. The forms and colors which compose it are still situated, on the plane, but the plastic event which they trigger fuses in front of and in the plane. It is thereby an end, but also a beginning, a kind of launching pad for future achievements."

In 1955, Galerie Denise René hosted a major group exhibition in connection with Vasarely's painting experiments with movement. This was the first important exhibition of kinetic art; in addition to art by Vasarely, it included works by Yaacov Agam, Pol Bury, Soto and Jean Tinguely, among others.  Most Americans were first introduced to Vasarely by the groundbreaking exhibition, "The Responsive Eye," at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1965.  The show confirmed Vasarely's international reputation as the father of Op art.

The artist has madenumerous monumental sculptures and murals, including works for the Students' Residential Center of Caracas; Faculté des Sciences, Marseille-Saint-Jerome; University of Bonn; Padagogische Hochschule, Essen; University of the Ruhr, Bochum; Maine-Montparnasse Station, Paris; Faculté des Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Montpellier; and Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Vasarely has received numerous important awards and honors, including the Guggenheim Prize, New York; Painting Prize, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; Grand Prize, Eighth Biennial of Art, Sao Paulo; Medal of Honor, Aix-en-Provence; Gold Medal, Milan Triennial; Foreign Ministers' Prize, Tokyo Biennale; and Certificate of Distinction and Presidential Citation, New York University. In 1970, Vasarely was named a Knight of the Legion of Honor in France.  He has received an honorary Ph.D. from Cleveland State University and is an honorary professor at the School of Applied Arts, Budapest, as well as an honorary citizen of New Orleans and Villeparisis, France.

Among the many major books which have been written on Vasarely are Vasarely, A Survey of His Work by Jean Clay, Victor Vasarely by Abraham Moles, Vasarely by Gaston Diehi, Vasarely et le Cinetisme by Michael Ragon, Vasarely I-IV by Victor Vasarely and Vasarely by Werner Spies.

The artist's works are included in almost every museum in the world which has a collection of contemporary art. Major museums in Gordes and in Aix-en-Provence, France; in Pecs, Hungary; and a wing of the Zichy Palace, Hungary are devoted exclusively to the art of Vasarely.

In 1989, Victor Vasarely visited the United States for the first time in many years to participate in the gala openings of two major Vasarely retrospective exhibitions at Circle Gallery-Soho, New York and Circle Gallery, Chicago.

Awards & Memberships

Guggenheim Prize, New York, New York

Painting Prize, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Grand Prize, Eighth Biennial of Art, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Medal of Honor, Aix-en-Provence, France

Gold medal, Milan Triennial, Italy

Foreign Minister's Prize, Tokyo Biennale, Japan

Certificate of Distinction and Presidential Citation, New York University, New York

Knight, Legion d'Honneur

Selected Exhibitions

Galerie Denise René, Paris, France, 1944

Galerie Denise René, Paris, France, 1955

The Responsive Eye, Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, 1965

Vasarely Retrospective, Circle Gallery-Soho, New York, 1989

Vasarely Retrospective, Circle Gallery, Chicago, 1989

Museums & Collections

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, New York

Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York

Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Tare Gallery, London, England

Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois

Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, California

Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Musee d'Art Moderne, Paris, France

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan

Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.

Jewish Museum, New York, New York

Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal, Canada

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Texas

New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana

St. Louis City Art Museum, Missouri

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania

Dordrecht Museum, Holland

Musee Boymans, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Gemente Museum, Le Havre, Holland

Art Gallery, University of Manchester, England

Ulster Museum, Belfast, Ireland

Musee Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium

Musee de Leverkusen, Germany

Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany

Musee d'Art Moderne, Basel, Switzerland

Museum of Vienna, Austria

Museum of Art, Copenhagen, Denmark

Museum of Art, Skopje, Yugoslavia

Jerusalem Museum, Israel

Tel Aviv Art Museum, Israel

Museum of Art, Berlin, Germany

Calvert Museum, Avignon, France

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