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Question of Viewpoint: Kati Vilim’s Op Art Reimagined

 

Kati Vilim, Angular Behavior, 2025. Oil on canvas, 40 by 40 inches. © Kati Vilim. Photo: András Müller. Courtesy of the artist and The Space, Budapest. 

  

By RAPHY SARKISSIAN August 6, 2025

French-Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely, widely recognized as a pioneer of the Op Art movement, developed foundational principles during his early training in Budapest, most significantly at the Műhely academy. These principles, which explored optical illusions and geometric forms in the mid-20th century, find a compelling reinterpretation in the recent exhibition Question of Viewpoint, featuring works by Budapest-born and New York-based painter Kati Vilim.

 

 Kati Vilim, Disclosed Escalation, 2025. Jacquard textile, 59 by 59 inches. © Kati Vilim. Photo: András Müller. Courtesy of the artist and The Space, Budapest.

Exploring the enduring legacy of Op Art, this exhibition creates a cogent dialogue through Vilim's contemporary lens of geometric abstraction and visual vocabulary. Curated by Linda Bérczi, in close collaboration with Zsófia Máté, the exhibition presents the artist's versatility across various mediums, featuring two unique Jacquard textile works, seven powerful mid-scale oil paintings, and three distinct sets of smaller panels realized in Venetian plaster and acrylic.

 

Kati Vilim, Sign Exchange 1-16, 2025. Venetian plaster and acrylic on panel, 12 by 12 inches each panel. © Kati Vilim. Photo: András Müller. Courtesy of the artist and The Space, Budapest.  


Vilim's paintings and wall tapestries display formal repetitions that, rather than being rigidly formulaic, are dynamically varied, resulting in an elaborate interplay of visual rhythms and distinctive permutations. This dynamism, achieved through subtle shifts in color, scale, and the precise arrangement of geometric forms, conveys both disciplined structure and a sense of unrestrained creative freedom. As Máté has observed, Vilim's artistic approach deliberately eschews specific narratives or overt symbolism, resisting direct referential meaning. Instead, her works function as an open-ended visual language, inviting free association and diverse interpretations from the viewer.

 

 Kati Vilim, Sign Template 1-9, 2025. Venetian plaster and acrylic on panel, 10 by 10 inches each panel. © Kati Vilim. Photo: András Müller. Courtesy of the artist and The Space, Budapest.


These abstract forms register as not fixed symbols but rather open visual structures, designed to be imbued with meaning by a given observer. The exhibition's title, Question of Viewpoint, consequently extends beyond mere spatial positioning, suggesting a dynamic relationship where perception and interpretation manifest as highly subjective processes. Thus, these geometrically articulated paintings and Jacquard tapestry, with their alluring pastel palettes or vibrant ones, do not offer a predefined system of meaning but rather extend a potent invitation for individual engagement and interpretation, ultimately embodying Vilim's singular perspective on the potential of visual kinetics. WM


Kati Vilim: Question of Viewpoint

The Space
Budapest, Hungary
June 12 through July 11, 2025 

 

Raphy Sarkissian

Raphy Sarkissian received his masters in studio arts from New York University and is currently affiliated with the School of Visual Arts in New York. His recent writings on art include essays for exhibition catalogues, monographs and reviews. He has written on Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Anish Kapoor, KAWS, David Novros, Sean Scully, Liliane Tomasko, Dan Walsh and Jonas Wood. He can be reached through his website www.raphysarkissian.com.

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