Victor Vasarely

Born Vásárhelyi Győző in Hungary in 1906, he later became Victor Vasarely in France, where he spent most of his working life. In 1937 he created Zebra, a piece some point to as one of the earliest examples of what would become Op art—though the term wouldn't arrive for years. He kept pushing geometry and optics into new territory, building a body of work that made him widely accepted as a grandfather and leader of the movement. He died in March 1997, leaving behind a visual language that turned static planes into kinetic experiences.