Permutation: Red and Blue
Hungarian-born painter Vasarely has lived most of his life in France. He is one of the leading practioners of Op Art, a type of abstract art which seeks to give an illusion of movement by exploiting optical effects. In his early days he worked as a commercial artist, particularly on the designing of posters, showing a keen interest in visual tricks. From 1943 he turned to painting and in 1947 he adopted the method of geometrical abstraction for which he is best known. This abstract work which is geometrical in nature produces a jarring visual effect with the gradation of colour. His work is similar to that of Bridget Riley (b.1930), whose work is also represented in the Ferens collection.
