York University
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Jean-Pierre Vasarely (1934–2002) was a French artist who lived and worked in Paris. Known as Yvaral, he specialized in Kinetic and Op Arts. His abstracted paintings used mathematically based patterns of approaching and receding forms to create his dynamic geometric works. Beyond painting, he also produced kinetic sculptures, screenprints, and multiples. Yvaral was the son of Victor Vasarely, a leader of the Op Art movement.

From 1950 to 1953, Yvaral attended the École des Arts Appliqués in Paris where he studied graphic design and publicity. Focused on extending the possibilities of geometric abstraction, Yvaral co-founded Le Group de Recherche d’Art Visuel (GRAV) along with artists Julio Le Parc, François Morellet, Francisco Sobrino, Horacio Garcia Rossi, and Joel Stein. The group approached their art making with a scientific spirit and aimed to develop a coherent abstract visual language of geometric elements.

In 1975, Yvaral coined the term “numerical art”. This method referred to the use of algorithmic or numerical rules in order to produce an image. While Yvaral painted the final versions of his work by hand, from this moment on he introduced digital imaging into his practice. Using the computer, he would take source images and transform them into geometric compositions that were then translated into paintings. Between 1989 and 1995, he often employed this method on images of celebrities, such as Marilyn Monroe. 

Yvaral’s work has been exhibited internationally and can be found in a number of major museum collections, including the Tate Gallery, London, UK, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.