3/12 2024 – 13/4 2025
Curator | Gregor Dražil, Božidar Zrinski
MGLC Tivoli Mansion | Ljubljana | Slovenija
The exhibition offers an extensive and nuanced overview of the influential Hungarian-French artist’s work, providing a deep dive into both his iconic visual language and the broader regional connections that his ideas sparked. This comprehensive presentation marks an important occasion for Slovenian audiences, offering them an in-depth exploration of Vasarely’s significant impact on the international art scene, as well as his resonating influence on local and regional artistic developments in Slovenia and Croatia.
Vasarely (1906–1997), widely regarded as the father of the Op Art movement, is perhaps best known for his pioneering optical illusions and geometrically-based abstract works. His hallmark style, particularly evident in his Black and White (Noir et Blanc), Vega, and Vonal series, plays with the perception of space, depth, and movement, all through the interplay of shapes, colors, and carefully considered compositions. These works, showcased in the exhibition, not only highlight the artist’s technical mastery but also serve as a testament to his enduring influence in the realm of visual perception and the optical arts.
This exhibition is particularly notable for its exploration of Vasarely’s interactions with the regional art scenes in Slovenia and Croatia, as well as his broader vision for the role of art within society. Beyond the immediate visual appeal of his works, Vasarely was deeply invested in the democratization of art, advocating for a vision of art that could be accessible to all. He believed that art should serve a practical function and be integrated into the everyday lives of people, extending his creative reach beyond the confines of the gallery space. His philosophy led him to develop a “visual alphabet” of basic geometric shapes and colors, a universal language that he envisioned could empower anyone, even the “layperson,” to create meaningful works of art.
The exhibition goes beyond Vasarely’s own work by incorporating the responses of Slovenian and Croatian artists to his ideas. Among the most notable works included in this context are the pieces by Croatian artists Ivan Picelj, Vjenceslav Richter, and Miroslav Šutej, who were all deeply influenced by Vasarely’s exploration of geometric abstraction and his engagement with the notion of art’s accessibility. The exhibition even highlights Vasarely’s personal connections with these artists, underlining his active involvement in the art scenes of Zagreb, where he collaborated with local artists and contributed to key publications such as the avant-garde newspaper a (1963), edited by Ivan Picelj, and Gorgona (1961), an influential anti-newspaper. These publications, which are also presented in the exhibition, were vital platforms for the dissemination of Vasarely’s and other artists’ ideas within the context of post-war European art.
The exhibition also explores the development of the Zagreb School of Screenprinting, a group of artists whose works in geometric abstraction were deeply influenced by rationalist and Op Art ideals. The display brings attention to their pioneering contributions to the medium of screenprinting, which became an important form of artistic expression in the 1960s. Key figures from this movement, including Ivan Picelj, Vjenceslav Richter, and Miroslav Šutej, are featured in the exhibition, illustrating the ways in which Vasarely’s concepts found fertile ground in Croatia and became integrated into the region’s modern art practices.
In Slovenia, while rationalist and Op Art movements did not receive the same level of popular embrace as in neighboring Croatia, the exhibition highlights the works of local artists who developed distinctive contributions to the field. Slovenian artist Drago Hrvacki, known for his abstract and geometric works, is represented by a selection of prints, monochrome reliefs, and a colorful freestanding object from the 1960s and 1970s. Similarly, Danilo Jejčič, whose work turned towards geometric abstraction in the early 1970s after a period of hiatus, presents two screenprints in homage to Vasarely, underscoring the ongoing influence of the Op Art movement in Slovenia. Josip Gorinšek, primarily known as a painter, is featured with two screenprints from 1983, showing the adaptability of Vasarely’s principles within different artistic contexts. The exhibition also acknowledges Sandi Renko, an artist from Trieste, who spent much of his career in Padua, Italy, a city at the forefront of geometric abstraction in the 1970s. Renko’s work in design and screenprinting further exemplifies the intersection of art and industry that Vasarely championed.
One of the key conceptual themes explored in the exhibition is Vasarely’s advocacy for a synthesis between art and applied design. He believed that art should not be confined to galleries or museums but should infiltrate public spaces and architecture. The exhibition brings this idea to the forefront by presenting works that connect Vasarely’s visual language to practical applications in architecture and design. Notably, the influence of the Bauhaus school, which shaped Vasarely’s early education, is evident in his later explorations of art’s integration with public space. The exhibition also features a selection of student works from the B Course at the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Geodesy (FAGG) in Ljubljana, which was introduced in the 1960s under Professor Edvard Ravnikar. These student works, which bear a striking visual resemblance to Vasarely’s explorations, further emphasize the influence of his ideas on Slovenian architectural and design education, highlighting the interconnectedness of artistic practices across disciplines.