Bellas 1985

Victor Vasarely made this painting, Bellas, with simple shapes that create complex illusions. The background is light blue and set against it are black and white checkerboard squares and cubes. I can imagine Vasarely in his studio, carefully plotting out each square, each line, each shift in perspective. It's like a dance between precision and perception, where the eye tries to reconcile what it sees with what it knows. He’s playing with our minds, creating something that feels both solid and unstable. I think about artists like Josef Albers who are interested in colour and perception. There's a conversation happening here across time and space, an exploration of how we see and understand the world through shapes and colors. It's a reminder that painting isn't just about what's on the canvas, but about how it activates our minds, inviting us to question our assumptions and embrace the ambiguity of perception.