Shape Shifting: 35 Years of Late Modernist Prints

July 21 - September 23, 2023

With modern advances in technology, the late 20th century saw the proliferation of the inexpensive printed image. Against the backdrop of the Xerox machine, artists embraced novel digital processes while finding renewed relevance in the traditional techniques developed over generations. Saturated matte oranges, yellows, and reds join unexpected hot pinks and lime greens, punctuated by clean, crisp lines and occasional texture. In the abstract meeting of color and shape, space is created for your interpretation, response, and imagination. The exhibition explores the alchemy of geometry and form, arranged during this pivotal moment in print history.

Featured Image: Jose Luis Rochet (Puerto Rican, born 1942),  Teatro #2 , 1971, serigraph, on loan courtesy of Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts

Above: Exhibition gallery view at Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts

WMA’s exhibition program serves as an extension of the museum’s permanent collection – exploring artists, themes and mediums found in the works held in the museum’s care. Shape Shifting is one such exhibition, on loan courtesy of Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts, and including artwork by Victor Vasarely. WMA has 7 works by the artist in our collection. In addition to this traveling exhibition, you can see work by the artist in WMA’s permanent collection galleries.

Above: Victor Vasarely (Hungarian, 1906 – 1997), Untitled, n.d. , Serigraph, Gift of Mr. Louis Z. Hammer, 1997.8.10

Victor Vasarely was trained as an artist in Budapest in the Bauhaus tradition. In 1930 he left Hungary and settled in Paris and was influenced by Constructivism, but by the 1940s his characteristic style of painting animated surfaces of geometric forms and interacting colors, had emerged. Vasarely’s style reached maturity in the mid-1950s and 1960s. His experimentation with color and special elements earned him the distinction of being one of premier artists of the Op Art movement.