Victor Vasarely's Multicolored Phoenix
In 1965, following the inclusion of his art in the Museum of Modern Art’s now-famous “The Responsive Eye” exhibition, Hungarian artist and Op Art inventor Victor Vasarely (1906–1996) became an international art superstar. For the next fifteen years, the public’s appetite for Vasarely’s dizzying designs seemed insatiable. In an effort to meet demand, as well as to bring his art to the masses, he maintained a studio reminiscent of Jeff Koons or Damien Hirst, employing legions of assistants to pump out paintings from his maquettes, as well as creating graphic editions and multiples. He sold prints directly in his Vasarely Center in New York City; he also made large editions for Circle Fine Art, a “fine art retailer” with a chain of galleries nationwide.
But when Vasarely died in 1996, his career was at an all-time low. That year, Circle Fine Art went bankrupt and cheap Vasarely prints flooded the market in the largest-ever fine art liquidation. Later it was discovered that his Foundation, which ran Vasarely museums in Hungary and France, had been mismanaged by its then-director, Charles Debbasch. L’Affaire Vasarely riveted French audiences for years. Debbasch was eventually convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment for misappropriation of funds and paintings. In a move reminiscent of an Ian Fleming novel, he skipped town for Togo and masterminded the constitutional coup d’etat of Togolese dictator, Faure Eyadéma. Debbasch currently enjoys diplomatic immunity.
In spite of it all, today, Victor Vasarely’s pulsating, multi-colored phoenix seems to be rising from the ashes. Due, in no small part, to the efforts of the Foundation’s new director, Michèle Vasarely—the late artist’s daughter-in-law—there are strong signals that the market is regaining confidence in the Op maestro’s work.
2007 saw Vasarely works achieving their highest prices ever at auction. Leading the pack was a black and white 1956-60 painting entitled Teke that appeared at Christie’s New York on May 12th. It fetched $348,000, demolishing its $120,000 to 180,000 estimate. With his prints, progress has been a bit slower. On July 19th, Christie’s South Kensington launched the largest Vasarely print and multiple sale ever, with 128 lots. Murray Macaulay, Associate Director of the auction house’s 20th Century Prints department, noted that the restrained early 60’s black and white pieces achieved high prices, as well as the bright, over-the-top 70’s works. “Although his work pre-dates computer generated graphics,” he says, “there is a correlation with digital art. His work has a new, sympathetic audience in young professionals.” It also looks good in hip, modernist interiors. Right now, Vasarely is all the rage on trendy designer blogs, such as coolhunting.com, which advertises morphing Vasarely screensavers.
Vasarely buyers are primarily European. Conjecture has it that this is due to the sterling reputation of Galerie Denise René in Paris, which maintains and regulates Vasarely’s market in Europe and the loss of major U.S. representation for the artist after his dealer Sidney Janis died in 1982. Also, McCaulay notes there is strong interest from Middle Eastern buyers, where the appeal of Vasarely’s non-figurative work does not breach Islamic prohibitions on representational art.
Judging from the meteoric rise of other Op or Kinetic artists such as Bridget Riley, whose paintings are fetching over $2 million at auction, the time seems ripe for Vasarely’s ongoing rediscovery.
