Victor Vasarely
'Nill'
Vasarely’s experiments with perception had its starting point in an early memory of tiles in a Metro station in the 30s. It provided an impulse that Vasarely explored and returned to over his lifetime. 'Nill' was painted in 1987, when the artist was 81 years old, the similar motif 'Linn-3' a few years earlier.
Estimate 1 000 000 - 1 500 000 SEK
› Signed Vasarely and also signed on the reverse. Conceived in 1962 and painted 1987. Numbered P. 1223. Canvas 168 x 156 cm.
'Sixton'
The painting “Sixton” from 1967 is an example from Vasarely’s exploration of the hexagon in the late 60s. He abandoned the square for some time to delve into the effect of perspective on the cube. The classic, or Renaissance perspective, with vanishing lines and a horizon, records what the eye perceives of the world around us. Instead, he chose the parallel or axonometric perspective in which the vanishing point does not exist. The edges of a cube, as an example, remain parallel. In “Sixton” the cubes are axonometric, formed by a square and two lozenges, thus creating an irregular hexagon. The characteristic of these cubes is their indiscipline and their independence. The cubes constantly modify the surface of the painting, creating an endless illusion of movement by rising in relief or falling back in the hollows. This effect is reinforced by a play of colour and light on the surface of each cube.
By the early 1970s, Victor Vasarely was everywhere. Regarded as the ‘grandfather’ of Op Art, the Hungarian-French abstract artist, then in his late sixties, had watched his pioneering geometric designs and hypnotising optical illusions come to represent his generation. Vasarely’s carefully calibrated patterns of luminous squares and circles was the hottest of hot demands.
Estimate 600 000 - 800 000 SEK
› Signed Vasarely, also signed and dated verso. Conceived in 1967 and painted 1987. Numbered P 1281 verso. Canvas 112 x 112 cm.
The works will be sold at Modern Art & Design
Viewing: May 16 – 20, Bukowskis, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Open: weekdays 11 am – 6 pm, weekends 11 am – 4 pm
Live auction: May 21– 22, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm