Deux Cubes, Prismes c. 1984

Victor Vasarely made this painting, Deux Cubes, Prismes, with paint, but what kind? I'm not sure. I want to know what it was like to try and trick people's eyes like that. Because this painting is a trick, a geometric, perfect, clean trick! I imagine Vasarely measuring the surface of the painting and then carefully applying flat colors. It's so clean and precise! I get the sense of his hand moving slowly, controlling its trace. Vasarely was part of a long line of artists interested in tricking the eye. I'm thinking about Anni Albers weaving textiles in such a way to make them look like they're popping out of the wall. Making art is like being in a band. Artists, across time, are in conversation with each other, riffing off one another's ideas and approaches. This piece reminds me that painting is an ongoing investigation of perception, testing the boundaries between reality and illusion.