Victor Vasarely *
(Pecs, Hungary 1906–1997 Paris)
Tomor, 1974–75, signed; signed, dated and titled on the reverse, acrylic on canvas, 190 x 190 cm, framed
Provenance:
Circle Fine Art Corporation, Chicago
Private Collection
Sale, Christie’s New York, 16 March 2006, lot 237
European Private Collection
Executed in 1974–75, TOMOR bears witness to the full maturity of Victor Vasarely’s exploration of the relationship between geometry, colour and perception. Measuring 190 × 190 cm, the work possesses a monumental presence, asserting itself within the space with natural authority and transforming the painted surface into a visual field of extraordinary breadth.
A rigorous modular structure organises the composition through oval and rectangular forms that progressively vary in proportion, while an intense palette of blues, greens, reds, oranges and violets establishes a sophisticated interplay of contrasts and correspondences. Repetition thus becomes variation, rhythm becomes perception, and the surface acquires a subtle sense of depth.
In TOMOR, however, the optical experience is never aggressive. The perceptual phenomenon unfolds with restraint, almost imperceptibly: forms seem to expand, recede and re-emerge, without ever entirely relinquishing the two-dimensionality of the canvas. It is precisely this subtlety that lends the work its distinctive elegance, transforming its visual effect from a spectacular display into a refined component of the aesthetic experience.
Nearly fifty years after its creation, TOMOR retains a remarkable sense of contemporaneity. Its monumental scale, disciplined construction and chromatic intensity coexist in a balance of rare harmony, bringing together geometric rigour and decorative sensibility, monumentality and perceptual lightness.
An important work in both scale and conception, TOMOR demonstrates Vasarely’s ability to transcend the purely rational nature of geometry and transform it into a form of visual experience: a surface that invites not merely to be looked at, but to be explored gradually.
Specialist: Alessandro Rizzi
(Pecs, Hungary 1906–1997 Paris)
Tomor, 1974–75, signed; signed, dated and titled on the reverse, acrylic on canvas, 190 x 190 cm, framed
Provenance:
Circle Fine Art Corporation, Chicago
Private Collection
Sale, Christie’s New York, 16 March 2006, lot 237
European Private Collection
Executed in 1974–75, TOMOR bears witness to the full maturity of Victor Vasarely’s exploration of the relationship between geometry, colour and perception. Measuring 190 × 190 cm, the work possesses a monumental presence, asserting itself within the space with natural authority and transforming the painted surface into a visual field of extraordinary breadth.
A rigorous modular structure organises the composition through oval and rectangular forms that progressively vary in proportion, while an intense palette of blues, greens, reds, oranges and violets establishes a sophisticated interplay of contrasts and correspondences. Repetition thus becomes variation, rhythm becomes perception, and the surface acquires a subtle sense of depth.
In TOMOR, however, the optical experience is never aggressive. The perceptual phenomenon unfolds with restraint, almost imperceptibly: forms seem to expand, recede and re-emerge, without ever entirely relinquishing the two-dimensionality of the canvas. It is precisely this subtlety that lends the work its distinctive elegance, transforming its visual effect from a spectacular display into a refined component of the aesthetic experience.
Nearly fifty years after its creation, TOMOR retains a remarkable sense of contemporaneity. Its monumental scale, disciplined construction and chromatic intensity coexist in a balance of rare harmony, bringing together geometric rigour and decorative sensibility, monumentality and perceptual lightness.
An important work in both scale and conception, TOMOR demonstrates Vasarely’s ability to transcend the purely rational nature of geometry and transform it into a form of visual experience: a surface that invites not merely to be looked at, but to be explored gradually.
Specialist: Alessandro Rizzi
