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Artworks
Victor VasarelyContes, 1931-32Photo collage, gelatin silver print, gouache and ink mounted to board14 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. (36.2 x 23.5 cm)(BSG 39)***VICTOR VASARELY (Hungarian, 1906 - 1997)
Victor Vasarely was a French-Hungarian multimedia artist, known for creating and leading the Op Art Movement.
Vasarely, Győző Vásárhelyi, was born in Pécs, Hungary, in 1906. Vasarely briefly studied medicine before enrolling at the Muhely Academy of Budapest to study painting in 1920. Vasarely later moved to Paris, where he worked as a graphic artist at several advertising agencies whilst pursuing his career as an independent artist. It was during this time that he made his painting Zebra (1937), which is considered one of the earliest examples of Op Art. In the 1940s, Vasarely began creating his trademark checkerboard paintings, which became greatly representative of the Op Art movement and influenced several artists to come, including Bridget Riley and Yaacov Agam. Vasarely died in 1997 at the age of 90. His works are currently held at the Tate Gallery in London, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, and several more institutions.
