Bia 1964

Victor Vasarely made ‘Bia’ with geometric shapes and a vibrant color scheme. Imagine him in the studio; he must have been trying to create an illusion of depth and movement with flat shapes. I can picture him carefully placing each square and circle, layering the colors to make the painting vibrate with energy. It reminds me a little bit of Sol Lewitt's wall drawings, but with a psychedelic twist. The way he's used contrasting colors—oranges and blues, greens and reds—really makes the eye dance across the surface. There’s a sense of playfulness, but also precision, which is very typical of Vasarely. It feels as though Vasarely is suggesting that art can be both rational and visually exciting, which is an idea I think a lot of painters, including myself, try to grapple with!