German
Basic Data
Victor Vasarely is one of the most important painters and theorists of the last century regarding to art history. His artistic career began with this training at the private drawing school Podolini-Volkmann-Academy in Budapest in 1927. In the following year, he changed to Mühely school for graphics that followed the Bauhaus-tradition. In 1930, he relocated to Paris, where he successfully worked as a commercial artist. There, he began deal with pictorial means like geometry, abstraction, rhythm, movement, and space.
- Born: 9 April 1906
- Place of birth: Pécs, Hungary
- Died on: 15 March 1997
- Nationality: French with Hungarian descent
- Studied at: Podolini-Volkmann-Adacemy Budapest, Mühely school for graphic with Bauhaus tradition
- Teachers: Sándor Bortnyk
- Similar artists: Josef Albers
- Era: Contemporary art
- Stylistic direction: Op art
Victor Vasarely Art For Sale
Victor Vasarely for sale
Are you interested in buying original artworks and limited editions of the artist Victor Vasarely? Under Victor Vasarely artworks and editions you will find a selection of works by the Hungarian-French artist.
Limited edition prints by Victor Vasarely
Nothing is as it seems in the art of Victor Vasarely, who tests the human eye with optical illusions in his geometric-abstract and multicolored compositions. Vasarely works according to the principles of reshaping and simplification, and in his painting he primarily addressed the processes of seeing and perception. The fact that his works were reproduced millions of times over was entirely in keeping with the artist's idea of collective art. Today Vasarely is considered one of the central artistic figures of the 20th century, whose art reflects the complexity of modernity.
Victor Vasarely was born in Hungary in 1906. Here he studied at the Hungarian Bauhaus and thus came into contact with the ideas of early modernism at a very early age. In 1930 he moved to Paris, where he initially worked successfully as a commercial artist. It was during this time that Vasarely conducted his first optical experiments, eventually turning away from figurative painting and pursuing his now signature style of combining kinetic effects with optical phenomena.
Currently you will find a versatile selection of limited editions prints of the Hungarian-French artist in our portfolio, who today is considered a pioneer of the so-called Op-Art. Among them are the two serigraphs Heisenberg and Sirius, which was published in an edition of 125 prints in 1982. The color-intensive prints show an octagonal pattern consisting of geometric shapes.
Lithographs by Victor Vasarely
In addition to the prints of Victor Vasarely just mentioned, we can offer you a curated selection of various lithographs of the artist for sale, which were published in editions ranging from 75 to 250 copies and are both handsigned and numbered.
Among the best-known works of his early period are Vasarely's experimental "Zebres" (1932-1942), in which he thematizes the ornamentalization of the zebra hide. In these early paintings, the style of Op-Art already begins to oscillate. The animals, which seem to hide behind a black and white tangle of lines in his paintings, are taken up again and again by the artist as motifs in the course of his artistic activity. As in the lithographs Zebra No. 2 (I), Zebra No. 2 (II), Zebra No. 2 (III) and Zebra No. 3 (I) and Zebra No. 3 (III), which you can buy in our portfolio. You can see a standing or lying zebra. The shape of the animal is not limited and defined by outlines, but by wavy black and white stripes, whose curves suggest the volume of the body.
The illusionistic confusion of his black-and-white period was followed by a turn toward nonrepresentational painting. Turning away from figuration, Vasarely developed his characteristic style. He combined optical pictorial patterns with kinetic effects. In addition to the 80 x 70 cm signed print Kat-Zag, we can offer you the lithographs YKA I, YKA II and YKA III, which were created in 1989 and measure 62 x 54 cm. These Victor Vasarely works vividly demonstrate how the artist creates optical image depth and spatiality where there is actually only a two-dimensional surface. Influenced by Constructivism and the forms of nature, the artist creates patterns and optical illusion on paper.
Vasarely's lithograph Konjunktion from 1999 in particular illustrates how he arranges geometric shapes of intensely luminous colors in a kind of latticework, creating the impression of a fluctuating movement. At the same time, the artist adds three rounded bulges to the surface, interspersing the evenly structured surface with geometric changes. Furthermore, Vasarely's prints Centaurus, Tsillag and Oslop 3 of our Gallery Shop also illustrate how the artist integrated optical illusions, i.e. the appearance of movements of the surfaces and lines, into his editions.
In our selection of works by the artist you will also find the two Victor Vasarely originals Voeroech I and Voeroech II. The 50 x 45 cm lithographs were published in 1986 in an edition of 100 Arabic and 70 Roman numbered copies signed by hand. On view are several shifted and overlapping squares, which the artist declines in shades of red and brown, which through their arrangement suggest the expression of dynamic movement to the viewer.
Further original artworks by Victor Vasarely
Currently we can offer you the selection of the above described Victor Vasarely originals and limited edition prints for sale. If you are interested in further artworks of Victor Vasarely, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will be happy to research further ones of the Hungarian-French painter for you.
Victor Vasarely prices
| Artist: | Title | Price: | Type: | Size: | Edition: | Handsigned: | Numbered: | Date: |
| Victor Vasarely | Heisenberg | 825 Euro | Original print | 25.4 x 23.6 in | limited edition of 125 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Sirius | 750 Euro | Original print | 24.4 x 22.8 in | limited edition of 125 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Kat-Zag | 1100 Euro | Original print | 31.5 x 27.6 in | limited edition of 250 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | YKA I | 775 Euro | Original print | 24.4 x 21.5 in | limited edition of 99 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Konjunktion | 925 Euro | Original print | 22.4 x 21.5 in | limited edition of 99 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Centaurus | 725 Euro | Original print | 29.1 x 21.7 in | limited edition of 80 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Oslop 3 | 725 Euro | Original print | 23.8 x 21.2 in | limited edition of 99 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Voeroech I | 725 Euro | Original print | 19.7 x 17.7 in | limited edition of 80 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Tsillag | 725 Euro | Original print | 16.7 x 17.7 in | limited edition of 80 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
| Victor Vasarely | Zebra No. 2 (I) | 925 Euro | Original print | 24 x 18.5 in | limited edition of 75 | yes | yes | 05.06.2019 |
Biography
French artist Victor Vasarely was a co-founder of the Op Art art movement. He was born on April 09, 1906 in Pécs, Hungary and began his studies in traditional academic painting in Budapest in 1927 at the Podolini-Volkmann Academy, a private drawing school, before moving to the Mühely School in the following years. At this graphic school, under the guidance of Sándor Bortnyik, he became acquainted with the design principles of the Bauhaus, which were to shape his future artistic work. In 1930 he married his fellow student, the artist Claire Spinner.
Moving to Paris in 1930, Vasarely gradually began to develop his own style. Influenced by his graphic training at the Mühely School and his work as a commercial artist in the French capital between 1930 and 1940, his interest in abstract geometric forms grew. He was particularly interested in optical illusions generated by an interplay of surfaces and shapes. From 1944 he worked as a freelance painter, graphic artist and sculptor in Paris, and in the same year he showed his first works at the Denise René Gallery, which resulted from experiments with various artistic styles, such as Cubism and Expressionism. From 1947, Vasarely finally found his own style within geometric abstraction: the combination of different patterns, shapes and lines made the paintings move before the viewer's eye. In the 1950s, he was finally completely committed to the style of kinetic art and summarized his artistic understanding in 1955 in the "Manifesto Jaune".
In the following years, Victor Vasarely achieved international fame through numerous exhibitions. He was finally awarded the Guggenheim Prize in New York in 1964 and, among other honors, was knighted with the Order of the Legion d'Honneur. On March 15, 1997, the artist died of cancer in Paris at the age of 90.
Exhibitions
Recent exhibitions
- 23.06.2023 – 17.09.2023 The Impermanent Collection #4 – Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo.
- 30.04.2023 – 03.09.2023 Quadrat Bottrop. Die Sammlung – Quadrat Bottrop – Josef Albers Museum, Bottrop.
- 29.04.2023 – 31.12.2023 Kunsthalle Karlsruhe @ZKM – ZKM Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe.
- 20.04.2023 – 28.01.2024 No Feeling Is Final. The Skopje Solidarity Collection – Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier, Vienna.
Past exhibitions
- 26.02.2023 – 01.05.2023 Think Tank: Reproductive Agents – Museu D’Arte Contemporanea Donna Regina (MADRE), Naples.
- 12.02.2023 – 02.07.2023 Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952–1982 – Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles.
- 20.04.2022 – 28.01.2023 No Feeling Is Final. The Skopje Solidarity Collection – Kunsthalle Wien Museumsquartier, Vienna.
- 24.07.2021 - 21.10.2021 Das schönste Bild bei mir Zuhaus – Ulmer Museum, Ulm.
- 22.05.2021 - 01.11.2021 Sculpture en fête! – Fondation Villa Datris, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.
- 02.03.2021 - 21.11.2021 Calder, Soulages, Vasarely... Abstractions Plurielles (1950-1980) Collection De La Fondation Gandur Pour L'art – Musée de Pully, Pully.
- 27.02.2021 - 26.09.2021 wild/schön - Kunsthalle Emden.
- 26.10.2020 - 01.05.2021 A TRIBUTE TO VASARELY & MORE - kunstGarten Graz.
- 01.10.2020 - 31.01.2021 Stories of Abstraction: Contemporary Latin American Art in the Global Context – Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix.
- 28.08.2020 - 17.10.2020 La saison dure – Printemps de l’Art Contemporaine, Marseille.
- 01.06.2020 - 03.01.2021 EXTRA LARGE – Kunsthal Rotterdam.
- 23.11.2019 - 19.04.2020 Vertigo. Op Art und die Geschichte des Schwindels 1520-1970 - Kunstmuseum Stuttgart.
- 25.05.2019 - 26.10.2019 Vertigo. Op Art und eine Geschichte des Schwindels 1520–1970 - MUMOK Wien, Vienna.
- 27.03.2019 - 19.05.2019 Platons Erben – Die Sammlungen im Kunstmuseum Bayreuth - Kunstmuseum Bayreuth.
- 06.02.2019 - 06.05.2019 Vasarely, le partage des formes - Centre Pompidou, Paris.
- 26.09.2018 - 13.01.2019 Victor Vasarely. Im Labyrinth der Moderne - Städel Museum, Frankfurt/ Main.
- 07.06.2018 - 09.09.2018 Victor Vasarely. The birth of Op Art - Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.
- 08.10.2014 - 11.01.2015 Victor Vasarely. Optical Paintings - EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo.
- October 2009 - February 2010 Victor Vasarely + 50 Jahre konstruktive Kunst in Paris - Kunsthalle Messmer, Riegel am Kaiserstuhl.
Awards
- 1970: French Chevalier de L'Ordre de la Légion d'honneur, Paris.
- 1966: Golden Medal, Second International Congress on Empirical Aesthetics, Rimini.
- 1965: L’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, Paris.
- 1965: Golden Medal of the Société d’Encouragement á l’Art et á l’Industrie, Paris.
- 1964: Guggenheim Prize, NewYork.
- 1955: Prix de la Critique, Brussels.
- 1955: Golden Medal, Milan.
- 1955: International Prize, Venezuela.
Literature
- Victor Vasarely: 1906–1997. Das reine Sehen, Magdalena Holzhey, Cologne 2018.
- Victor Vasarely: In the Labyrinth of Modernism, Martin Engler (Publ.), Nuremberg 2018.
- Victor Vasarely. Der Traum vom Raum: Malerei, Marlene Lauter, Cologne 2017.
- Polychromie und Glück: Die Fondation Vasarely in Aix-en-Provence 1973-76, Anneke Bokern, Zurich 2008.
- Vasarely. Werke aus sechs Jahrzehnten, Manfred de la Motte, Alexander Tolnay, Stuttgart 1986.
Own Writings
- Vasarely, Victor Vasarely, 1978.
- Plasticité, Victor Vasarely, 1969.
Collections
Germany
- Frankfurt am Main - Das Städel Museum
- München - Die Pinakotheken
France
- Paris - Centre Pompidou
- Aix-en-Provence - Vasarely Fondation
England
- London - Tate Modern
Hungary
- Budapest - Vasarely Museum
- Pécs - Victor Vasarely Museum
USA
- New York - Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Weblinks
- Victor Vasarely Fondation Detailed biography and work overview.
- Art in Words Biography.
News
- Foundation of Victor Vasarely accuses London gallery of selling works by the Op artist that it doesn't own, von: Alexandra Bregman, in: www.theartnewspaper.com, vom: 06.12.2022.
- Victor Vasarely's Kaleidoscopic Abstractions, von: Elaine YJ Zheng, in: www.ocula.com, vom: 26.10.2022.
- London Department Store to Stage Massive Victor Vasarely Exhibition with Metaverse Twist, von: Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, in: www.artnews.com, vom: 13.01.2022.
