R Magazine, Ex-TeenArt_Issue 1_Authenticity Jun. 2015 | Page 96

Focus on his Black
and White period
“White and Black make the maximum contrast. […]
The same composition in white and black automatically give me a second composition in black and
white. Both works are qualitatively equal, identical
and diametrically opposite, like mirror-images.”
– Victor Vasarely
Vasarely’s Black-White period started in 1954. He dove
back into his graphic and linear work as well as his undulated deformations. His binary compositions of black
shapes on white backgrounds and/or white shapes on
black backgrounds formed the basis of his research.
Black and white geometrical shapes accentuated the illusion of movement, creating an optical vibration. This
period illustrates the apogee of the Op Art movement.
“The challenge is no more the heart, but the retina;
the beautiful mind becomes the subject of experimental
psychology. Sharp black and white contrasts, the untenable vibration of complementary colours, the flicker of
rhythmic grids and shifting structures, the optical kinetics of plastic components, many physical phenomenon
present in our artwork which role is not to amaze or
immerse us into a sweet melancholy anymore, but to
stimulate us and procure wild pleasure.” Victor Vasarely
Fondation Vasarely : http://www.fondationvasarely.fr
Written by Laura
Translated by Jayne Mandat