Victor Vasarely - AFA Negativ - image-1

Lot 500 D

Victor Vasarely - AFA Negativ

Auction 1122 - overview Cologne
01.12.2018, 14:00 - Contemporary Art I
Estimate: 30.000 € - 40.000 €
Result: 81.840 € (incl. premium)

Victor Vasarely

AFA Negativ
1957/1962

Tempera on panel. 59 x 42.5 cm. Signed, dated, and titled '"AFA - neg." 1957 Vasarely', numbered '1283' and with dedication verso on panel. - Minor traces of age.

The present work has been executed in 1962.

“In a lengthy process, Vasarely eradicates the literary thematic and replaces it gradually with an arsenal of objective, spontaneously experienceable structures which challenge the viewer at eye-level and force him to react”. (Werner Spies, Victor Vasarely, Cologne 1971, p. 6)
Following his initial trompe-l'oeil-style “Etude de matière” (Material study) as an advertising graphic artist in the 1930s and 1940s, Vasarely concentrates on using his drawing ability for constructive, ornamental concepts and inventions and securing this in the actual, characteristic signet of his work: the repetition of forms such as the variations on the circle and oval, transparency and contrast between light and dark, convex or concave bulging of a pattern, often virtuously staged in a not uncomplicated way.
The artist broadly references the examination of the multi-layered play of kinetics in his art-theoretical writings. The repetition of some basic patterns such as the richly contrasting use of pure white and pure black shapes, build a sweeping framework that enhance the viewer's confusion when locating the details. Severe black-and-white contrasts are particularly adept at virtually preventing sharp spatial separation. The viewer's concentration is constantly required - not to say overstretched - to calm the automatic switching between the levels of the foreground and background.
“AFA, Negativ” is a classic example of such optical irritations. The composition plays with architectural details and produces a strongly suggestive spatial effect. Reminiscent of the pictorial systems of synthetic Cubism, Vasarely makes use of the ingenious construction not only in different sized formats and different materials for the picture carrier, but also changes the contrast: he changes the dominant black here into a dominant white, as in AFA II, 1955 (oil on canvas, 214 x 155 cm) in Museum Folkwang (see comparable illustration).

Certificate

The authenticity of the present work has been confirmed by Pierre Vasarely, President of the Fondation Vasarely, universal legatee and the moral right holder of Victor Vasarely. This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné de l’Oeuvre Peint de Victor Vasarely, which is currently being compiled by the Fondation Vasarely, Aix-en-Provence.

Provenance

Obelisk Gallery, Boston (label verso); Galerie Lahumière, Paris; private collection, South Germany