P. 1244 Pentek 1985

Victor Vasarely made this eye-popping print, P. 1244 Pentek, with, I imagine, careful planning. It’s all about creating an illusion, making a flat surface seem to bulge out at you. Vasarely's genius lies in his use of simple shapes and contrasting colors. Look at the way the yellow grid seems to float above the darker background. It's like a visual puzzle, where your brain tries to make sense of the conflicting information. The surface seems to ripple and move, even though you know it’s perfectly still. Notice the grid of black lines bending as if to move away from a central sphere. It’s like you could reach out and touch the curve of a bubble. The Op art movement, which Vasarely is a key figure in, makes me think about artists like Bridget Riley, who played with similar ideas of perception and movement. Ultimately, it is the lasting impact of Vasarely, whose work embraces the idea that art should be accessible, playful, and open to endless interpretations.