Victor Vasarely *
(Pecs, Hungary 1906–1997 Paris)
Hold-KK, 1967-1969, signed, dated and titled on the reverse, oil on canvas, 160 x 160 cm
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Pierre Vasarely, President of the Vasarely Foundation, universal legatee and moral right holder of Victor Vasarely.
This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné which is currently being compiled by the Vasarely Foundation in Aix-en-Provence.
Provenance:
Beyeler Gallery, Basel (label on the reverse)
European Private Collection
Exhibited:
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Moon and Space, January – February 1970,
exh. cat. no. 82, p. 55 with ill. (Illustrated as “Hold-K 1965-1969”)
“But lover, poet, or astronomer, Shepherd, or swain, whoever may behold, Feel some abstraction when they gaze on her: Great thoughts we catch from thence (besides a cold Sometimes, unless my feelings rather err); Deep secrets to her rolling light are told; The ocean's tides and mortals' brains she sways, And also hearts, if there be truth in lays”.
Lord Byron, Don Juan, Canto 16, 1823
Since prehistoric times humans’ perception of the Moon and its importance has been crucial, the role played by lunar phases, its influences and its worlwide symbology is immeasurable.
When on 21st July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to step onto the surface of the moon, the course of history changed drastically.
Neil Armstrong:
“I’m at the foot of the ladder. I’m going to step off the lunar module now. That’s only one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. The surface is fine and powdery. I can pick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers like powdered charcoal to the soles and the sides of my boots (…) it is a stark beauty all its own. It’s like much of the high desert of the United States. It’s different but it’s very pretty”
(The Guardian- Apollo 11: In their own words. Fragments from the official Nasa transcript of conversations between the Apollo 11 team and mission control)
The exhibition Moon and Space held at the Bayeler Gallery in Basel six months after the landing on the moon was a homage to this new historical era. The exhibition included works by the major international artists such as Max Ernst, Klee, Mirò, Magritte, Poliakoff, Dubuffet, Pollock, Rothko, Riley, Calder etc. and selected essays by philosophers, writers, poets, scientists from various Centuries. Executed between 1967 and 1969 Vasarely’s HOLD- KK depicts four moons whose scale of blue colors move towards four different directions in a geometrical yet lyrical movement that catches the viewer’s attention almost permanently. The composition’s tonality of blues span from the darkest shade of Prussian blue to the lightest shade of light blue that becomes almost white, its balance and sense of peacefulness is based on logic, geometry and the choice of colors.
Bid on this lot
(Pecs, Hungary 1906–1997 Paris)
Hold-KK, 1967-1969, signed, dated and titled on the reverse, oil on canvas, 160 x 160 cm
The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Pierre Vasarely, President of the Vasarely Foundation, universal legatee and moral right holder of Victor Vasarely.
This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné which is currently being compiled by the Vasarely Foundation in Aix-en-Provence.
Provenance:
Beyeler Gallery, Basel (label on the reverse)
European Private Collection
Exhibited:
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Moon and Space, January – February 1970,
exh. cat. no. 82, p. 55 with ill. (Illustrated as “Hold-K 1965-1969”)
“But lover, poet, or astronomer, Shepherd, or swain, whoever may behold, Feel some abstraction when they gaze on her: Great thoughts we catch from thence (besides a cold Sometimes, unless my feelings rather err); Deep secrets to her rolling light are told; The ocean's tides and mortals' brains she sways, And also hearts, if there be truth in lays”.
Lord Byron, Don Juan, Canto 16, 1823
Since prehistoric times humans’ perception of the Moon and its importance has been crucial, the role played by lunar phases, its influences and its worlwide symbology is immeasurable.
When on 21st July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to step onto the surface of the moon, the course of history changed drastically.
Neil Armstrong:
“I’m at the foot of the ladder. I’m going to step off the lunar module now. That’s only one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. The surface is fine and powdery. I can pick it up loosely with my toe. It does adhere in fine layers like powdered charcoal to the soles and the sides of my boots (…) it is a stark beauty all its own. It’s like much of the high desert of the United States. It’s different but it’s very pretty”
(The Guardian- Apollo 11: In their own words. Fragments from the official Nasa transcript of conversations between the Apollo 11 team and mission control)
The exhibition Moon and Space held at the Bayeler Gallery in Basel six months after the landing on the moon was a homage to this new historical era. The exhibition included works by the major international artists such as Max Ernst, Klee, Mirò, Magritte, Poliakoff, Dubuffet, Pollock, Rothko, Riley, Calder etc. and selected essays by philosophers, writers, poets, scientists from various Centuries. Executed between 1967 and 1969 Vasarely’s HOLD- KK depicts four moons whose scale of blue colors move towards four different directions in a geometrical yet lyrical movement that catches the viewer’s attention almost permanently. The composition’s tonality of blues span from the darkest shade of Prussian blue to the lightest shade of light blue that becomes almost white, its balance and sense of peacefulness is based on logic, geometry and the choice of colors.
