Torobor II 1982

Victor Vasarely made "Torobor II", and it’s a trip into optical illusion. It's like he's playing a game, setting up rules and then bending them. The color palette is a simple black and golden yellow, but the arrangement is what makes it sing. Look closely and you'll see how the squares create a sort of vibrating effect, as if the surface is moving beneath the paint. There’s a rigidity to the structure, and then a kind of messing-with-it, just enough to keep it alive. There’s something about the materiality of this piece, the way the flat blacks sit against the yellow, that reminds me of Sol LeWitt, but with a pulse. Vasarely's inviting you to look, and then look again. It’s not just about seeing, but about experiencing vision.