Zeta III 1965

Victor Vasarely made this dynamic composition of black and white stripes and orbs, called Zeta III. There's something cool about limiting your palette like this, right? It's like he set some ground rules, and then within those rules, he let it all hang out. The black and white stripes are so rigid and ordered, but then he throws in those circles that seem to push and pull the whole picture plane. Look at how those white stripes curve as they move across the bottom circle. It feels like they're bending light! Vasarely was really into geometric abstraction, and you see echoes of that in the work of Bridget Riley. It makes you think about how artists keep responding to each other across time and space, riffing on similar ideas, but each with their own spin. Ultimately, this piece reminds us that art can be a total head trip, and that sometimes the simplest forms can mess with your mind in the most interesting ways.