CIRCLE II Sculpture

Optical art; A trick, an illusion, or a different art form altogether? Youri Messen-Jaschin studied Fine art at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (student of Robert Cami). Youri spent four years in Paris. He then returned to Lausanne where he attended the École des Beaux-Arts. Youri headed to Zurich and found work as an assistant to the fantastical surrealist Friedrich Kuhn. He also regularly visited the famously inventive father of ‘Alien’, HR Giger, to whom a museum is now dedicated in Gruyères. From there, Youri went abroad. With another scholarship awarded in 1967, he pursued his artistic research at The University of Gothenburg. What do exhibition visitors make of a canvas that appears to contain multidirectional black-and-white stripes – or are they gray? Maybe there is a pinkish tinge? Some visitors can see red, green lines on the far right of the canvas. Someone else can see a very particular yellow shade, not quite cerulean or forget-me-not blue. Op Art stages optical illusions. It’s mathematical in nature; everything is designed, down to hundredths of a millimeter, to mislead the viewer’s eyes into making their brain detect something that doesn’t exist. The image takes on different hues depending on the viewer’s position, the way they perceive it and the impact it has on one or other part of the brain. Accomplished works of Op Art require an astonishing mastery of freehand working. Only around twenty artists worldwide have made such works over multiple decades, and Youri is a master of the art. Youri Messen-Jaschin is a great illusionist and has huge reserves of talent. This is amply illustrated by viewing one of his works of art intently, whether sitting or standing in front of it. Then the world turns upside down, sometimes very swiftly! Some viewers are simply impressed by the patience the artist must have exercised to invent these infinitely repeating shapes which, once assembled, add an extra dimension to the work. Other observers find themselves attracted to, sucked in by these optical warping effects created using light and shade, arranged so they adopt forms that only exist for the viewer themselves. And some people feel uneasy. They need to look away to avoid nausea as their brain rolls and pitches through the canvas. This is a feature of kinetic art or highly skilled Op Art.