Tsika 1976

Victor Vasarely made this painting, Tsika, with some kind of synthetic polymer paint. What I notice right away is the tension between flat surface and illusionistic depth. It’s like he's building space with a computer program, but the materials are physical and kinda clunky. The colours are bright and bold, but it's the grid that really does it for me. It’s a relentless, all-over pattern, like a screen that’s been stretched over the entire composition. It flattens out the forms while at the same time creating the sensation of them receding into space. See how the grid lines wiggle and distort ever so slightly? They hint at the handmade, even though the painting looks so mechanical. It's like he's poking fun at modernism, and celebrating it at the same time. This reminds me of Bridget Riley, but with hard edges. She also explores the way that abstract forms can create optical illusions, but her work is more organic and flowing. Vasarely’s got this super controlled energy – like a machine that’s been programmed to make mistakes.