Vasarely Year Launched on the Day of Hungarian Culture

On the Hungarian Culture, the Janus Pannonius Museum (JPM) launched Vasarely 2026 to mark the 120th anniversary of the world renowned Hungarian fine artist Victor Vasarely's birth and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the museum in Pécs that exhibits his works, the museum informed MTI on Thursday.

The institution, which performs public collection duties for the county, said in a statement that the first exhibition in a series of programs honoring one of the most influential creators of modern visual art is now open to the public: the artworks of the half-century-old JPM Vasarely Museum will be on display until March 22 in a new concept, located about 200 meters from the original exhibition space in Pécs, in the large temporary exhibition space of the JPM Modern Hungarian Picture Gallery.

The selection also features works from the collection of several hundred pieces that have not been included in the permanent exhibition before and will not be on display there in the future.

The Vasarely 2026 - Pécs season is not only a retrospective but also a forward-looking cultural commitment, according to the announcement. They emphasized that the renovated JPM Vasarely Museum will open on April 9 in this spirit, fittingly coinciding with Victor Vasarely's birthday. This will be followed by the inauguration of Vasarely Square and an exhibition of Claire Vasarely, the artist's wife, at the JPM Museum Gallery.

A large-scale contemporary exhibition at the m21 Gallery in the Zsolnay Quarter will explore how the legacy of op art lives on in 21st-century visual and light art. During the summer, visitors can enjoy a picnic celebrating the 50th anniversary of the JPM Vasarely Museum, as well as special programs during the Night of Museums.

Vasarely's visual legacy is also evident throughout the city: this year's Zsolnay Light Festival is based on the theme of Vasarely, while in the fall, the Early Vasarely exhibition offers a new focus on art history from the collection of the Vasarely Museum in Budapest.

The anniversary season will conclude with a series of Vasarely-themed programs organized by DesignPécs, which will focus on the contemporary connections between design and visual culture.

The announcement noted that the works of perhaps the most internationally renowned Hungarian visual artist appear in countless places around the world. Not only in museums and galleries, but also in public spaces, on buildings, in logos, on music album covers and even in film.