Boygo 1968

Victor Vasarely created ‘Boygo’ as part of the Op Art movement, which played with visual perception. Vasarely, like many artists of his time, was interested in how abstraction could communicate beyond traditional representation. ‘Boygo’ is a play of vertical lines and contrasting shades, creating an illusion of depth and movement. The symmetrical composition draws your eye inward, towards the dark center, then pushes it back out to the brighter edges. Vasarely once said, “Optical art is not abstract.” And I think he meant that it wasn’t an escape from reality but another way of engaging with it. The hard edges and industrial palette evoke the rising tide of technology of the time. Yet, there’s something human in the way the painting messes with our senses, almost as if it’s inviting us to question what we see, or what we think we know.