Topaz, from Lapidaire 1967

Victor Vasarely made this geometric screenprint, Topaz, sometime in the mid-twentieth century. Doesn't it just zing? A grid of nine perfect squares in a bright, high-key palette of red, purple, yellow, and orange. Then there are the solid black shapes sitting right on top: circles, squares, and diamonds. It's so simple, yet it gets your attention. I can imagine Vasarely playing with stencils and thinking about Josef Albers’ color squares. Did he plan the arrangements, or did he let it happen through trial and error? He probably was aiming for the sweet spot between chaos and order. I want to play around with those shapes and colors. With art, it’s like we’re all in this big conversation across time and space, riffing off each other, and making new things happen. I think Vasarely would be happy to know he’s still part of the conversation.