Victor Vasarely Lot n° 5

Victor Vasarely Zoeld-D-SZ 1969 Colored cardboard elements, collaged, on hardboard 194.5 x 194.5 cm. Framed. Signed 'vasarely' - With slight traces of age. Provenance Acquired directly from the artist (1969); Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne (with label on the reverse); private collection, Germany Victor Vasarely wrote in a letter to Eva Stünke in September 1969 that this large collage on hardboard is characterized in its beauty by the fact that the (colour) gradation fields on it are completely coordinated: "Le collage fait 200 x200 cm et il est plus beau que la toile, car les gammes sont intégralement développées dessus." (Victor Vasarely, Annet-sur-Marne, to Eva Stünke, Cologne, 14.09.1969) Since his childhood, Victor Vasarely has been fascinated by the optical phenomena of everyday life that create depth effects or dynamic structures - such as the manifold reflections of multi-glazed windows. His intention as an artist is to trace these phenomena and create them himself with the help of serial structures. To this end, he develops his so-called alphabet of basic geometric shapes, which can be combined in grids at will. "In my units, however, the structure arises from the interplay of ground and form. The totality of my binary sculptural units forms my alphabet. [...] Initially, the plastic unit consisted of black forms on a white background or white forms on a black background, so that either its core, the form, was positive on a negative background or vice versa. But with the introduction of color and its various scales, the number of possible combinations became dizzyingly high. [...] My plastic units are placed in sorting boxes like printing letters, they are form-colors and represent the safest and fastest means of my programs recorded on graph paper. By simply sticking them on, I obtain the desired results, a combinatorics that is both formal and colorful, which I later called 'algorithms' or 'permutations'." (Victor Vasarely, quoted from: Jean-Louis Ferrier, Conversations with Victor Vasarely (Spiegelschrift 8), Cologne 1971, p.64ff.). "Zoeld-D-SZ" masterfully demonstrates the fascinating optical effects that can be achieved with these means. The combination of square and circular shapes alone creates an optical division of the picture surface. The yellow tones, which become more intense towards the center, create a magical effect and illuminate the center of the picture like an integrated light source.