Exhibition - Vasarely and Architecture

To celebrate the Foundation's 50th anniversary, the Tourist Office is honoring Victor Vasarely, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, a pioneer of optical art, and his masterful building conceived, from its inception, as a monumental work of art.

// Vasarely and architecture in the spotlight //

To celebrate the 120th anniversary of his birth in Pécs, Hungary in 1906, and the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Vasarely Foundation's Architectural Center in Aix-en-Provence in 1976, the Tourist Office is honoring Victor Vasarely, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century and a pioneer of Op Art, with an exhibition focused on the creation of the magnificent building that houses the Vasarely Foundation. The exhibition explores—among other things—its conception by the artist as a monumental work of art.

// The culmination of his experimental research //

From the 1950s onward, Victor Vasarely envisioned a "social art" capable of transforming daily life through architecture. For him, the artwork was no longer an isolated object: it became an element of the urban space, designed to interact with light, volumes, and the movement of crowds. From its inception, the Vasarely Foundation project was intended to be the culmination of his experimental research: with its sixteen hexagonal cells, its optical facades in black and silver aluminum, its interplay of light, and its forty-two giant integrated installations, the complex forms an immersive environment where architecture and artistic creation become one. Vasarely did not simply want to exhibit his works there; he wanted to invent a new way of experiencing art. Neither a traditional museum nor a mere piece of contemporary architecture, he conceived it as an immense, habitable sculpture.

// A free 12-page illustrated newspaper //

In a nod to Vasarely's Op Art and Kinetic Art, the team behind the Rencontres du 9e Art (9th Art Encounters), which organizes the annual comics festival of the same name each spring, has collaborated with Berlin-based author-illustrator Jakob Hinrichs to create a graphic fable that revisits the artist's childhood and reveals, through comics, how "Victor, the child with dragonfly eyes" became Vasarely, the renowned visual artist. Printed in 15,000 copies, the 12-page illustrated journal is available on-site at the Tourist Office reception desk and also at the Vasarely Foundation throughout the summer (while supplies last).

// Project for a revolution //

Until November 1, 2026, the Vasarely Foundation is hosting, among its many offerings, the exhibition entitled "Project for a Revolution: Vasarely and Architecture," which examines in detail the Architectural Center of Aix-en-Provence as a unique architectural manifesto. Thanks to exceptional loans from prestigious institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, the Médiathèque du Patrimoine et de la Photographie (Heritage and Photography Media Library), the Musée national Fernand Léger in Biot, the Musée de Grenoble, and the Frac Centre-Val de Loire in Orléans, the exhibition retraces Vasarely's visionary and utopian ambition to take art out of museums and integrate it into the heart of the city. The exhibition catalog is available from Fage (French & English). 164 pages. €30.