Pilich 1956 - 1957

Curator: Standing before us is "Pilich," created between 1956 and 1957 by Victor Vasarely. It’s a compelling example of his early explorations into what would later be known as Op Art, and employs mixed media, including acrylic. Editor: My first thought? Disorientation! It feels like peering into some kind of alternate reality, maybe the blueprints for a very strange building, designed to trick the eye. It pulses with an energy that's both calculated and… slightly unnerving, but utterly arresting! Curator: Absolutely, the visual tricks are key. Vasarely was fascinated by how the eye perceives form and space, creating illusions through geometric patterns. Here, we see a strict black and white palette, increasing the starkness of the shapes. These squares, rectangles, and lines create a sort of controlled chaos. Editor: That stark contrast reminds me of the yin and yang. There’s a deeper, symbolic balance here, not just a visual one. Look how the light and dark aren't merely aesthetic, they actively shape our understanding of space, turning positive into negative with a simple shift in color. I find that to be compelling! It almost reads as an effort to redefine our understanding of solidity, echoing archetypal tensions found cross-culturally. Curator: And consider its position in the context of its time. Emerging post-war, such abstraction represented freedom from traditional artistic and social norms, as well as a fascination with technology and the new frontiers of perception opened up by scientific progress. Vasarely was almost mapping a new visual language, coding perception itself! Editor: I like that, it does seem like a code. And maybe that's why it is also unsettling – it invites you in, then asks you to participate in decoding it! There's a primitive, puzzle-like quality to it, a stark return to pure, distilled form and symbol. So simple and, simultaneously, utterly profound. Curator: Yes, "Pilich" is far more than mere optical illusion. It encapsulates a crucial moment in art history where pure abstraction started playing sophisticated games with our perception. It also challenged conventional notions of how and what art communicates. Editor: It does invite meditation doesn't it? A moment of focused, internal reckoning with forms and what they truly represent. It's quite masterful, to think. The simplicity of its form carries immense profundity and force!