Riu-Kiu-C 1960

Victor Vasarely, born in Hungary and later naturalized as French, created Riu-Kiu-C using paint on canvas. The painting’s op-art aesthetic pulses with graphic energy, made from simple black and white. The success of this composition relies on the material qualities of paint itself, and it speaks to the artist's interest in how visual perception can be altered through clever arrangement. Vasarely originally trained as a printmaker, so in many ways, this is less a painting than a design for a possible multiple. Its geometric rigor recalls textile patterns, and the modularity of its design hints at mass production. It begs the question: how does our experience of art change when it seems to be made for manufacture? Vasarely embraced these ambiguities, leveling any hierarchy between art, craft, and design. By doing so, he invites us to reconsider the value we place on originality, and also the value of the labor involved in art's production.