Experience the optical tricks and kinetic energy of Victor Vasarely at Selfridges exhibit

Today at its London store, Selfridges launched an exhibition on the grandfather of op-art, Victor Vasarely, displaying 55 of Vasarely’s pioneering optical illusions across the store. The event, Universe, is in partnership with the Fondation Vasarely and Paco Rabanne.

Visitors to Universe will see the storefront transformed as Selfridges has individually wrapped each of its 24 windows in some of Vasarely’s designs. In a progression of “Vasarely’s investigation of the fourth dimension”, London-based NFT platform Substance has also created a virtual reality environment or “metaverse”, “through which visitors can interact with Vasarely’s calibrated patterns and hypnotic oscillations as NFTs,” reveals a statement.

“Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of his death, Universe is a unique opportunity to introduce his work to a new audience,” Pierre Vasarely, president of Fondation Vasarely, states. “We’re delighted to be able to bring together examples of his iconic designs from across his career, including works on canvas, ceramics and tapestries which showcase the extent of his artistic universe.”

While Victor Vasarely, whose abstract work has seen a resurgence in interest including a Centre Pompidou retrospective in 2019, is best known for his illusions, he first trained as a graphic designer. His best-known contributions to the design sphere include the Renault logo and cover art for David Bowie’s 1969 Space Oddity. His iconic designs have served as inspiration for artists across disciplines; Universe will also celebrate the launch of Paco Rabanne’s Spring Summer 2022 collection, for which the work of Vasarely served as a starting point.

Funds raised from Universe – 37 of Vasarely’s works will be available for sale alongside a series of homeware products and NFTs – will go towards restoring Fondation Vasarely in Aix en Provence, which Vasarely designed. It contains 42 installations also conceived by Vasarely which are integrated into the fabric of the building.