Viktor Vasarely (1906 – 1997) is considered the founder of OP-Art (optical art). His works captivate with clarity, predictability and rationality; simple graphic changes lead to optical effects. It is the artistic implementation of perceptual theory. “It is the original idea that is unique, not the object itself.”
Matthias Engert’s steel sculptures are related to the works of Vasarely. Therefore, he does not refer to a single work by the artist Vasarely, but to his concept, to his idea.
Matthias Engert takes up the graphic forms and the reduced colourfulness of Vasarely’s works and inserts them into his cube. The sides of the cube are perforated and the inside is coloured with six colours (the three primary colours and the complementary colours).
The changing colours are created by the movement of the viewer, very much in the spirit of Vasarely, who sees the participation of the viewer as an essential element of his works.
Matthias Engert has assigned a letter to each of the different geometric parts.
With the help of Engert’s alphabet, the patient viewer can decipher a text.
Victor Vasarely: “OP-Art”
Optical art, with the idea of using precise, abstract form patterns and geometric colour figures to trigger surprising or irritating optical effects, the idea of movement, flickering effects and optical illusions in the viewer (Wikipedia). By reducing Vasarely‘s art to formal and colourful means, i.e. the actual elements of fine art, and additionally reducing it to geometric forms in his works, he creates a link to a scientific, technical understanding of the world of our modern age. Viktor Vasarely was born in Hungary in 1908 and lived in Paris from 1930. His dream was the “colourful city”. He wanted to beautify the concrete jungle of the big cities with his vibrant colours. And he did this with geometric shapes that could correspond to the picture support, the building walls. He created a 1000 m² mural for the Congress Palace in Monte Carlo and is thus a forerunner of Hundertwasser, who, however, loosened up the strict formal language.
The contemporary interpretation and transfer into the third dimension was achieved by Matthias Engert from Würzburg with his metal cube. Matthias Engert takes up Vasarely‘s geometric patterns both in the shape of the cube and in the small geometric shapes cut out of the metal. Vasarely‘s colourfulness is quoted on the inside of the cube, which is coloured in the three primary colours and the complementary colours. Vasarely‘s colours only appear indirectly when looking through the openings. With a little patience, the viewer can decipher an inscription on the sides of the cube using an enclosed alphabet. The inclined position of the cube lends it a special spatial dynamic.
