PRINTPROVENANCE:
Ader-Picard-Tajan, Paris, June 21, 1990, lot 114
Dimensions Art Center, Taipei
Private collection, Asia
Ader-Picard-Tajan, Paris, June 21, 1990, lot 114
Dimensions Art Center, Taipei
Private collection, Asia
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Silva
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1978 Oil on canvas 103 x 103 cm Signed lower right Vasarely- in French |
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Estimate
1,700,000 - 2,600,000 420,000 - 642,000 54,100 - 82,700
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Sold Price
1,800,000 436,893 56,268
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Catalogue Note:
SILVA
VICTOR VASARELY
The late Hungarian-French artist Victor Vasarely was a prolific artist in his long life. He is widely accepted as the father of the “op-art” movement. “Op-art” is an art movement that gained popularity in the 1960s. “Op” is short for “optical“, or optical illusions. V asarely’s “Zebra” series in the 1930s is thought to be classic pieces of the early op-art movement.
In his early years, Vasarely studied medicine, which he gave up to study painting and modern art at Sandor Bortnyik’s private art school, which was widely recognized as Budapest's center of Bauhaus studies. This set the foundation of his later artistic style. During his studies, he began to consider the connection between art and science, and the effect of scientific development on visual art. Regarding the meeting point between art and science, Vasarely once said that “the two creative expressions of man, art and science, meet again to for m an imaginary construct that is in accor d with our sensibility and contemporary knowledge. “
In 1930, Vasarely left Hungary for Paris, where he did graphic design and creative consulting work. During that time he had little contact with fellow artists in Paris, instead focusing on exploring his own artistic language. From the 1940s, he began to study the artworks and theories of Mondrian and Kandinsky, and mused about color theory and the developmental history of cognition and illusion, gradually developing his own view on the subject. He believes that a world of internal geometry is hidden below the surface of the natural world. Geometry is like the spiritual language of the natural world, connecting the internal and external worlds. To him, every basic geometric shape is the basis of color, and every color summarizes the characteristics of different shapes. And so, he cast aside basic forms of the natural world, instead choosing standard colors directly, building a stunning and mesmerizing space with geometric shapes on a two-dimensional surface. In the following 30 years, he developed his own unique artistic style of abstract geometry, experimenting with different materials, but always insisting on minimalist construction and color.
Beginning from the 1950s, he tried painting with pr opylene on glass boards, stacking them together to form a peculiar moving effect. He continued perfecting this style of stimulating vision with optics and color changes, which later came to be known as “op-art.”
In 1965 Vasarely took part in the “The Responsive Eye” exhibition held by the New York Museum of Moder n Art. Through this exhibition, his works became world-renowned. Other notable op-art artists such as Bridget Riley participated in this exhibition. Artworks displayed in the exhibition were meticulously designed, with waves or geometric shapes positioned to stimulate visual movement and flashes, creating dizzying optical illusions when optic nerves pr ocess the image. Op-artists use this to prove that there is no definite division between visual art and the science of cognitive psychology; that through scientific design, artists can activate the optic nerve, create visual images by utilizing and arranging visual effects, to achieve artistic experiences that are just as moving as those inspired by traditional paintings. For this purpose, Op-art did away with themes. Precise geometric shapes are used instead, many of which are used by psychologists as testing data for visual cognition experiments. The artworks are well received in the exhibition.
Op-art is somewhat similar to pop art, which was also popular i n the west during the same era. The inspiration for pop art c omes from the culture of consumerism, popular at that time, tur ning retail items and celebrities into symbols. As an extension to graphic design, Op -art’s unique visual effects are widely used in commercials, media, and architecture, becoming popular in the wester n consumer market.
“Silva“ can be viewed as the c ontinuation of “Vega” series Vasarely started in the 1960s. In this series, his control of color and form reached new heights. The structure of the piece is based upon the combination of an oval surface and a gradient of cubes, forming the illusion that the spheres are moving in different directions. The different sizes, shapes, and positions of the cubes create space and movement on the two-dimensional surface. As the basic component of the image, the angles at which the small cubes tilt changes. The tilt makes it look like the cube is gradually straying from or coming closer to the horizontal or vertical axis. Tilting in the depth of the painting is done in two ways, gradually lengthening or shortening the distance from the axis. The tilting cubes in this piece belong to the former. This way, the object placed at an angle displays an inner strength that either faces towards or away from the front. Unlike a fixed object facing forwards, a tilted object is full of inner strength. Vasarely makes use of this “inner strength” masterfully, not only creating a spherical, three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, but also giving the sphere a sense of movement. This movement is perfect for representing stars. The movement displayed by this pieces makes one feel like the color will spill from the painting, and flow towar ds boundless space.
Victor Vasarely’s work steps away from the personal element in painting, focusing solely on the visual effect of the image. He believes that art is not personal, and is instead a product of society, so it needs to reflect society, which means reflecting the technology and knowledge of the time. As a result, he carefully designs his work, infusing them with the rationality of science. This kind of artistic exploration has already been carried out since perspective studies in the Renaissance period, or even as early as mosaic murals in the middle Ages, but Victor Vasarely isolated this idea from figurative art, displaying it in a purely abstract way, making it more theoretically significant.
VICTOR VASARELY
The late Hungarian-French artist Victor Vasarely was a prolific artist in his long life. He is widely accepted as the father of the “op-art” movement. “Op-art” is an art movement that gained popularity in the 1960s. “Op” is short for “optical“, or optical illusions. V asarely’s “Zebra” series in the 1930s is thought to be classic pieces of the early op-art movement.
In his early years, Vasarely studied medicine, which he gave up to study painting and modern art at Sandor Bortnyik’s private art school, which was widely recognized as Budapest's center of Bauhaus studies. This set the foundation of his later artistic style. During his studies, he began to consider the connection between art and science, and the effect of scientific development on visual art. Regarding the meeting point between art and science, Vasarely once said that “the two creative expressions of man, art and science, meet again to for m an imaginary construct that is in accor d with our sensibility and contemporary knowledge. “
In 1930, Vasarely left Hungary for Paris, where he did graphic design and creative consulting work. During that time he had little contact with fellow artists in Paris, instead focusing on exploring his own artistic language. From the 1940s, he began to study the artworks and theories of Mondrian and Kandinsky, and mused about color theory and the developmental history of cognition and illusion, gradually developing his own view on the subject. He believes that a world of internal geometry is hidden below the surface of the natural world. Geometry is like the spiritual language of the natural world, connecting the internal and external worlds. To him, every basic geometric shape is the basis of color, and every color summarizes the characteristics of different shapes. And so, he cast aside basic forms of the natural world, instead choosing standard colors directly, building a stunning and mesmerizing space with geometric shapes on a two-dimensional surface. In the following 30 years, he developed his own unique artistic style of abstract geometry, experimenting with different materials, but always insisting on minimalist construction and color.
Beginning from the 1950s, he tried painting with pr opylene on glass boards, stacking them together to form a peculiar moving effect. He continued perfecting this style of stimulating vision with optics and color changes, which later came to be known as “op-art.”
In 1965 Vasarely took part in the “The Responsive Eye” exhibition held by the New York Museum of Moder n Art. Through this exhibition, his works became world-renowned. Other notable op-art artists such as Bridget Riley participated in this exhibition. Artworks displayed in the exhibition were meticulously designed, with waves or geometric shapes positioned to stimulate visual movement and flashes, creating dizzying optical illusions when optic nerves pr ocess the image. Op-artists use this to prove that there is no definite division between visual art and the science of cognitive psychology; that through scientific design, artists can activate the optic nerve, create visual images by utilizing and arranging visual effects, to achieve artistic experiences that are just as moving as those inspired by traditional paintings. For this purpose, Op-art did away with themes. Precise geometric shapes are used instead, many of which are used by psychologists as testing data for visual cognition experiments. The artworks are well received in the exhibition.
Op-art is somewhat similar to pop art, which was also popular i n the west during the same era. The inspiration for pop art c omes from the culture of consumerism, popular at that time, tur ning retail items and celebrities into symbols. As an extension to graphic design, Op -art’s unique visual effects are widely used in commercials, media, and architecture, becoming popular in the wester n consumer market.
“Silva“ can be viewed as the c ontinuation of “Vega” series Vasarely started in the 1960s. In this series, his control of color and form reached new heights. The structure of the piece is based upon the combination of an oval surface and a gradient of cubes, forming the illusion that the spheres are moving in different directions. The different sizes, shapes, and positions of the cubes create space and movement on the two-dimensional surface. As the basic component of the image, the angles at which the small cubes tilt changes. The tilt makes it look like the cube is gradually straying from or coming closer to the horizontal or vertical axis. Tilting in the depth of the painting is done in two ways, gradually lengthening or shortening the distance from the axis. The tilting cubes in this piece belong to the former. This way, the object placed at an angle displays an inner strength that either faces towards or away from the front. Unlike a fixed object facing forwards, a tilted object is full of inner strength. Vasarely makes use of this “inner strength” masterfully, not only creating a spherical, three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, but also giving the sphere a sense of movement. This movement is perfect for representing stars. The movement displayed by this pieces makes one feel like the color will spill from the painting, and flow towar ds boundless space.
Victor Vasarely’s work steps away from the personal element in painting, focusing solely on the visual effect of the image. He believes that art is not personal, and is instead a product of society, so it needs to reflect society, which means reflecting the technology and knowledge of the time. As a result, he carefully designs his work, infusing them with the rationality of science. This kind of artistic exploration has already been carried out since perspective studies in the Renaissance period, or even as early as mosaic murals in the middle Ages, but Victor Vasarely isolated this idea from figurative art, displaying it in a purely abstract way, making it more theoretically significant.