Morphèmes – Morphemes. The Shared Stories of Imre Pan and Victor Vasarely in Paris

Imre Pán is known to the Hungarian public as a poet belonging to the circle of the MA periodical, the creator of the Dadaist publication IS, or one of the founder-theorists of the European School, without whom Lajos Kassák’s exhibitions in Paris would not have been possible. Our temporary exhibition focuses on an important period of his lesser-known activity in France, in which Victor Vasarely was given one of the main roles.

Imre Pán moved permanently to Paris in 1957, and by the time of his death in 1972 he had published one hundred and forty-five bibliophile publications containing unique graphics, including fourteen of his series “Signe”, “Morphèmes” and “Mini-Musée”, dedicated to Vasarely’s art.

Most of the material in the exhibition consists of Vasarely’s drawings, collages, watercolours and serigraphies from their joint albums, as well as graphic works created by the artist between 1930 and 1960, which were once part of Pan’s collection and came from France.

Organizers of exhibitions, art consultants, publishers, editors, art dealers and art collectors, all posts by Imre Pan were in Budapest and Paris. Thanks to his poetic inclination, he also resonated sensitively with the works of his contemporaries as an art writer, perhaps most sensitively to the “créateur” universe of Hungarian-born op art:

“Vasarely’s images are like a projection screen on which the spectrum projects the play of space. With Vasarely, this cosmic rhythm becomes extremely human, as if a special seismograph were simultaneously charting the movement of gravitational fields and the palpitations of the astonished viewer.”

Curator: Veronika Pócs