Rhythm 1970

Victor Vasarely made this print titled Rhythm, and what strikes me is how he gets a sense of movement out of such simple shapes and colours. I love how he uses a limited palette of blues, greens, oranges and purples. The way he tilts each little rectangle within the grid feels almost like a dance, right? It’s not chaotic, but not perfectly ordered, either. Your eye just keeps moving around the surface. There's no real depth, but at the same time, the colours and shapes create a strange illusion of space. It’s like he's playing with your perception, pushing and pulling the surface. Vasarely reminds me a bit of Bridget Riley. But while Riley is more interested in pure optical effects, Vasarely feels a bit more playful, a bit more interested in how these shapes can create a sense of joy. In art, it is about asking questions, not necessarily answering them.