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VICTOR VASARELY Alphabet.
Color screenprint on white wove paper, circa 1980. 600x560 mm; 23 3/4x22 1/4 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 122/175 in pencil, lower margin. Published by Denise René Editeur, with the blind stamp lower left. A very good impression with vibrant colors.
According to the Städl Museum, Frankfurt, where Vasarely's (1906-1997) work has been widely exhibited, this work is part of a series that the artist developed from the ideas of Bauhaus and De Stijl, which became known as the Plastic Alphabet series. "It would prove to be Vasarely's most important artistic invention: his Plastic Alphabet was to be a means of responding to society's needs. Once again, the square serves as the basic element. In each case it is combined with another basic geometric form: a circle, ellipse, rectangle, rhombus or triangle. With the aid of six predetermined basic colours, the elements are then combined in various richly contrasting nuances. He called this basic module the "plastic unit." Like the letters of the alphabet, the "plastic units" open up virtually infinite combinatory possibilities for the creation of artworks. Vasarely patented his idea in 1959.
Vasarely's keen interest in science played a decisive role in his artistic work. Scientists and researchers frequented his studio. Inspired by their ideas, he often compared his Plastic Alphabet to an atom: elementary particles are the key building blocks of atoms; in like manner, the Plastic Alphabet was the construction kit for Vasarely's art."
