Uran

"Uran" is a classic example of the Vega patterns that Victor Vasarely began to paint in the mid-1960s. Borrowing from macrophysics and atomic structures, this pattern was characterized by the use of circles that optically expand towards the center of a composition and contract towards its sides, suggesting an undulating, concave-convex surface. This pattern recalls Vasarely’s drawings of Martians from the 1930s, in which the illusion of a swollen belly in the body of a human figure is created through the combination of linear and color patterns. In "Uran", the distribution of different tones of blue creates multiple levels of spatial depth, evoking a telescopic effect that amplifies the visual tension between receding and expanding forces. These tensions are emphasized by the contrasting effects of light and dark blue pigment, which produce dazzling optical effects. Vasarely’s interest in the astronomical implications of physics and geometry is suggested by titles such as Vega and Uran. Seen from a telescope, the planet Uranus has a blue-green color that resembles those in this lithograph.

This text was created in collaboration with the University of Maryland Department of Art History & Archaeology and written by Patricia Ortega-Miranda.