Vasarely 120: An Exhibition of Victor Vasarely’s Life’s Work has Opened

From May 15, Vasarely 120 exhibition is open to the public at the Museum of Fine Arts, where you can see more than 140 works of art, as well as documents and previously unknown photos and films.

The Vasarely 120 exhibition gives us the opportunity not only to see the well-known artist, but also to rediscover the extremely complex, thoughtful, experimental artist who researched the laws of vision throughout his life," said Mónika Zombori, one of the curators of the exhibition.

She emphasized that the exhibition demonstrates that Vasarely's art is not simply a question of stylistic history, but the result of a radical change in perspective that spanned the 20th century and developed in parallel with it.

"In this sense, Vasarely is not only an artist, but also the creator of a visual way of thinking that, beyond art, also influenced design, architecture and our everyday visual culture, and its impact can still be felt today," she emphasized.

She added that at the exhibition, visitors can follow how Győző Vásárhelyi, who was born in Pécs but became an artist in Budapest, became Victor Vasarely, a member of the artistic elite of the French capital, and thus also an internationally defining artist of the 20th century.

Veronika Pócs, the other curator of the exhibition, emphasized that although Vasarely spent most of his life in France, he always retained his "Hungarianness" in his identity, in the deep layers of his visual sensitivity and in his artistic thinking. This can be traced not only in the titles of his works, but also in the compositional rhythms and geometric structures in which the ornamental elements of Hungarian folklore are echoed.

The exhibition, which is connected to the 120th anniversary of the artist's birth, comprehensively examines the art of Victor Vasarely, as his work played a decisive role in the development of post-war geometric abstraction and op-art, and still shapes thinking about visual culture.

The artworks and documents on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, which is also celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, attempt to draw a complete picture of the Vasarely's oeuvre.

Vasarely 120: What can You Expect from the Exhibition?

The last time a similar exhibition of Vasarely's works was held in Hungary was in 1969, at the Műcsarnok. The current exhibition primarily builds on the Budapest collection founded by the artist, which is the largest and most comprehensive Vasarely public collection in the world, but outstanding works never before seen in Hungary have also arrived from the Fondation Vasarely in Aix-en-Provence, and works on loan from the Vasarely Museum in Pécs and private collections enrich the anniversary exhibition.

The exhibition follows the main creative periods of Vasarely's career in chronological order, from early, figurative experiments through the clear systems of geometric abstraction to the conscious editing of optical phenomena. Visitors can learn about how Vasarely strove to make art step out of the traditional studio framework and become a shaper of everyday environments, architecture and urban space. become.

The works are presented in thematic-chronological units, in five sections, entitled Early Works, The Road to Abstraction, The Birth of Kineticism, Op-art and Art for Everyone.

At the heart of Vasarely's art is the question of movement through the functioning of vision. Kinetic art examines various forms of movement, while op-art, of which Vasarely is one of the most defining figures, uses optical phenomena to create vibrating, seemingly moving visual structures. Vasarely's "art for everyone" program is also connected to these aspirations, which aimed to democratize art, i.e. to create a visual language that can be reproduced, is widely accessible and plays a role in shaping the everyday environment.

The exhibition is an integral part of the international process of reevaluation that was organized at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt in 2018 and then at the Pompidou Center in Paris in 2019. began with his large-scale exhibitions, which place Vasarely's oeuvre in new contexts and fresh horizons of interpretation.

The oeuvre exhibition is connected to the chamber exhibition Kinetic Visions. Nicolas Schöffer and Victor Vasarely in Dialogue, which is on display at the Hungarian National Gallery, and focuses on less prominent but still decisive points of view in the Museum of Fine Arts exhibition, with particular attention to the works of the Line period. The exhibition Vasarely Don't Go Home, which is on display at the Neo Contemporary Art Space in the City Park until mid-September, examines how Vasarely influenced Hungarian art from the perspective of the experimental art of the sixties and seventies. The three exhibitions can also be visited with a joint, discounted ticket.

Source: MTI.hu

Photos: MTI / Bruzák Noémi