Victor Vasarely

(Vásárhelyi Győző, Hungary, 1908 – France, 1997), rebaptized as Victor Vasarely in France, was the father of Op art. In the early 1930s, he settled in Paris, working as a graphic designer for advertising agencies. After a period of figurative expression, he turned to abstract, constructive, and geometric art, beginning his main research on geometric abstract art that creates optical effects of movement. Vasarely called this development visual kinetic art (cinétique plastique), based on the perception of the viewer, who ultimately becomes the sole creator of the work.
From 1948, he regularly exhibited at the Denise René gallery and began creating works integrated with space. He received the Guggenheim International Award in 1964 and the Grand Prize at the São Paulo Biennial in 1965. During these years, he created two-dimensional works that visually suggested movement and three-dimensional works that required the viewer's movement to produce the kinetic effect. In the late 1960s, he received further recognition, such as the Carnegie Institute's Painting Award in Pittsburgh.