HI-TA-KO 1948 - 1952

Curator: Here we have Victor Vasarely's "HI-TA-KO," an acrylic on canvas piece created between 1948 and 1952. It's a striking example of his early geometric abstraction. Editor: My first thought? Claustrophobia. It's as though those geometric shapes are pressing in, fighting for space. There's tension there, definitely not restful. Curator: Indeed. While he is widely known as the grandfather of Op Art, "HI-TA-KO" showcases his pre-Op explorations, focusing primarily on pure form. You can almost feel his process here. Editor: Right, the triangles, the trapezoids… They aren't just shapes, they're symbols loaded with potential. I think back to Mondrian, Malevich; it's all about finding a deeper order in the chaos, using these forms as primal visual language. That gray feels really important in doing that grounding it perhaps? Curator: I would not disagree at all, color does not appear to be the only guide. In those pre-Op years, you sense Vasarely's building toward that immersive, almost dizzying effect that became his signature, through layering geometric forms. His concern seems less illusionistic space and more about shape and a system or shapes. Editor: Absolutely. I see the beginning of a system here. A sort of geometric alphabet, if you will. Each form probably holds a certain coded meaning. I bet it has something to do with perspective as his work matures! It's about making the viewer question, perceive depth, and see beyond the obvious—almost like a visual riddle of identity. Curator: Perhaps even his exploration in space. He might consider what they represent separately, but he is thinking even bigger in considering what they would mean together. "HI-TA-KO" acts as an early stage for this reason. Thank you. Editor: Thank you, it gives the eye something solid to land on before he fully let the Moire patterns lose us completely!