Vasarely retrospective at the Pompidou Centre, 6th February – 6th May 2019
With three hundred pieces of art, objects and documents, the Pompidou Centre presents the first French retrospective of work by Hungarian (and later French) artist Victor Vasarely.
Vasarely’s art is inextricably linked with the 1960s and 70s, bursting with psychedelic colours and repeated geometric forms. However, he arrived in Paris much earlier, in 1930 at the age of 24, and started off producing purely abstract art.
It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that he started to create what would come to be known as Op Art – paintings with a similar effect to optical illusions.
The exhibition presents Vasarely’s work chronologically and by theme, showing the main stages he used and allowing visitors to see the evolution of his style. Some of the works included haven’t been shown for over fifty years!
Linked with the exhibition are a number of events:
— a showing of the film Vasarely, l’illusion pour tous, followed by a conference with the curator’s of the exhibition, art historians, a writer and an artist (the film is also being shown on TV station France 5 on 1°th February at 9.25am)
— two workshops for kids : “The Magic Eye” and “Optical Illusions”
— guided tours, including one in English every Sunday at 5pm
A catalogue of the exhibition is also available (232 pages, 40€ here at amazon.fr).
And if you want to see a huge installation by Vasaly in the street, head for rue du Faubourg Saint Denis where his astonishing portrait of Saint Vincent de Paul made from strips of aluminium adorns a building. More info here.