Axo 99

Axo 99 is a combination of all the mediums and movements Vasarely executes best; op art, sculpture, vibrant colours, cubism and surrealism. Vasarely first began to experiment with textural effects, perspective, shadow and light, and his early graphic period saw rise to his famed Zebras 1937 , Chess Board 1935 and Girl-power 1934 . From 1944, Vasarely experimented more with Cubism and Surrealism, developing a unique style earning him exhibitions in galleries Denise René 1946 and René Breteau 1947 . His acclaimed works Self Portrait and The Blind Man are associated with this moment in his career. From 1947, Vasarely became increasingly interested in Op Art, famously producing his group of works Gordes Cristal.

From his Gordes work, Vasarely began to developed his kinematic images, superimposed acrylic glass panes creating impressions of dynamism dependent upon the viewpoint. Vasarely became a prominent figure among kinetic artists, exhibiting alongside Man Ray at the René gallery in the exhibition Le Mouvement. In October 1967, designer Will Burtin invited Vasarely to present at his Vision conference at New York University, which proved to be a seminal moment in Vasarely's development of his ideas on visual kinetics. In 1970, Vasarely opened his first dedicated museum with over 500 works, and built the Foundation Vasarely which was inaugurated in 1976 by Georges Pompidou, the French president at the time. In the same year, Vasarely's large, kinematic object Georges Pompidou was installed at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, coinciding with his huge donation of his works to the Vasarely Museum in Pécs. In 1987, the second Vasarely museum was established in Zichy Palace in Budapest, to which he donated a large repository of his work thought to exceed 400 items. This was the moment in his career which gave rise to Axo 99, which overlays hand painting and traditional sculpture with optical illusionary technique, culminating in these two unique pieces.