Vera Molnar

Basic Info

Name: Vera Molnar
Country of Origin: HU
Website: http://www.veramolnar.com/

Description

Vera Molnar (1924-2023), also known by her maiden name, written Gács Vera a.k.a GV, was a Hungarian-born artist born in Budapest in 1924. She is considered a pioneer of digital and algorithmic art who many have designated as the first female digital artist. Steeped in a pictorial legacy characteristic of Eastern Europe, she moved to Paris in 1947 to develop an experimental and highly committed career. She began creating art when she was eight years old and continued to work daily throughout her entire life, until her passing at ninety-nine years old (just 28 days before her 100th birthday).

At first glance, her painting practice can be classified as geometric abstraction, utilizing a basic vocabulary based on the line, the circle, the square and the meander. However, Molnar spent much of her career developing an intense theoretical reflection on ways of creating and mechanisms of vision. Inspired by Mondrian, Malevich, and the concrete art movement, she stated that she had fascination with all work undertaken with “exact sciences and mathematics in particular”. From this foundation, she introduced to the rigor of her work a certain amount of chance, a “hint of disorder” as she put it, to shake up its strict algorithmic conception.

She had already created a large body of traditional work when she began experimenting with computation as part of her practice. In 1968, she became one of the pioneers of computer use in artistic creation, a tool that, in her words, allowed her art to “free itself from a classical heritage sclerotic” while enabling her to maintain full control of her compositions.

In 1956, she met François Molnar who would later become her husband. Abandoning his pictorial practice to assume the directorship of a research laboratory at CNRS, François Molnar accompanied and enriched the work of the artist during the first twenty years of her career. Together they met Victor Vasarely and Julio Le Parc, who implemented the beginnings of optical art and cinétique. However, Vera Molnar stayed away from these movements to develop her systematic painting style and lay the foundations of what Serge Lemoine calls “French minimalism”

As a Grande Dame of digital art, Molnar continued to work in both analog and digital media throughout her entire career – and in fact it is sometimes difficult to tell if a piece of hers is done on a computer or painted with acrylic. Her constructivist interests mesh seamlessly with basic computation opportunities. Molnar’s work is a wonderful example of how the computer can be a powerful tool in the right hands. Her precise, sensitive modulations of placement and angles take minimalist ingredients and create a complex feast for the eyes.

Molnar refused to “play the game” of seeking artistic recognition from galleries and institutions. The absence of “publicity” given to the artist delayed her recognition by the public considerably.

Represented in museums all over the world, Molnar recently had a retrospective in Metz and was included in the Elle 200 show at Center George Pompidou. A show in Hungary compared her to Cezanne.

Vera Molnar passed away peacefully at home on December 7, 2023.

Explore Artworks By Vera Molnar

Du Cycle: “La Ciotat”

signed and dated lower right in graphite numbered 1/1 lower left in graphite initialed, titled, and dated on the reverse of the paper in graphite signed, titled, dated, and numbered 1E E.A.(premier edition d’artist / first artist edition) 1/1 on the reverse of the backing board in graphite

AD.VM.AV.IA – 13

signed and numbered 3/4 lower right in graphite AD.VM.AV.IA, on the other side of the polyhedron (1514-2023) Collaboration between Vera Molnár and aurèce vettier Text and curation by Vincent Baby Based on a detail -the representation of a polyhedron- from Albrecht Dürer’s engraving Melencholia (1514), Vera Molnár and aurèce vettier have imagined an installation assisted […]

Themes and Variations

an artist book collaboration with Vera Molnar and Martin Grasser. signed, dated, and dedicated “to Michael and Anne” on the inside cover printed, published, and copyrighted by Sotheby’s justification text from the inside cover of the book: “Themes and Variations by Vera Molnar encompasses a collection of 500 unique generative artworks. Within these works Molnar […]

Untitled (Structure of the Quadrilateral)

no visible signature inscription in French printed in plotter ink: “Madame Janine Mayer, Nous sommes honores de saisir l’occasion de cette journee du 31 mai, 1985 por vous adresser cette oeuvre concue et executee par ordinateur. en Sorbonne, F. Molnar et le C.R.E.I.A.V.” inscription translated to English: “Mrs. Janine Mayer, We are honored to seize […]

1% Disorder

an artist book comprised of 25 offset lithographic pages containing 1 cover page, 1 index page, 1 justification statement page, 20 image pages, and 2 pages of Ancient Greek historical references. Published by Wedgepress & Cheese Layout and production by Leif Eriksson Printed by TRYCKMA, Malmo, Sweden in 1980 Edition: 500 unsigned and unnumbered text […]

Ricercar: Excursions vers les 3 Dimensions, 10 Dessins Dont 1 de L: 2m20 (Ricercar: Excursions into the Third Dimension, 10 Drawings, one of which is 2 Meters 20 Long)

signed and dated lower right in graphite titled and dated on the outer protective sheet “Fait Avec Students de Paris I” (Made with the students at Paris I) written on the outer protective sheet in red ink This work was made at The Sorbonne, University of Paris, where the artist taught in the 1980’s.

Segments

signed and dated lower right in graphite The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this drawing was completed at 4:10.37pm […]

Hommage à Barbaud No. 8 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 12:20.08pm on Saturday, October 5th, 1974.

Hommage à Barbaud No. 7 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 12:14.11pm on Saturday, October 5th, 1974.

Hommage à Barbaud No. 6 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 12:09.58pm on Saturday, October 5th, 1974.

Hommage à Barbaud No. 5 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 4:27.21pm on Thursday, September 19th, 1974.

Hommage à Barbaud No. 4 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 4:36.03pm on Thursday, September 19th, 1974.

Hommage à Barbaud No. 3 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 4:05.57pm on Thursday, September 19th, 1974.

Hommage à Barbaud No. 2 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 3:18.31pm on Thursday, September 19th, 1974.

Hommage à Barbaud No. 1 (Tribute to Barbaud)

The numbers are a date code: The first set of numbers stands for the year and day that the piece was made. The second set of numbers is the time stamp that the plotter drawing was completed. This code tells us that this piece was drawn and completed at 10:57.03am on Thursday, September 19th, 1974.

Est-ce une Ligne? (Is it a Line?) Triptych

signed, titled, and dated on the reverse of the canvas each panel measures 31.5 x 31.5″ exhibited in “Is it a Line” A selection of Vera Molnar works from 1978 to 2019 at Vintage Galéria, Budapest, Hungary, 11/30/2021 – 01/28/2022 https://vintage.hu/exhibitions/vera-molnar-est-ce-une-ligne “Is it a line? – Vera Molnar could have asked the question countless times. […]

Tango 74

signed and numbered 139 on the justification page in graphite printed in an edition of 200 hand signed and numbered copies published by Angers Editions Présence de l’Art Contemporain, Angers, France printed by Setig Jacques Palussière, Angers, France.

Out of Square

one copy is signed on the justification page in graphite and numbered 35 on the justification page in ink one copy is unsigned and unnumbered 51-400 This visual novel was published on the occasion of the exhibition “Vera Molnar: Ordres et (Des) Ordres” at the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany on the Rhine River. The exhibition took […]

Goethe Autrement A Homage to Goethe (Goethe Otherwise)

signed, dated, and numbered 2/8 within the marble on the bottom of the cube signed, titled, dated, and numbered 2/8 on accompanying certificate of authenticity cube size: 7.75 x 7.75″ sphere size: 7.75 x 7.75″ “Goethe otherwise is an exceptional creation of the artist inspired by a sculpture installed in the garden of Goethe’s summer […]

Untitled (Study for 144 Rectangles Triptych)

double sided dated upper right corner in ink dated lower right in felt tip marker handwritten notes in French in ink dated lower right on the reverse in felt tip maker hand written notes in French in ink 144 Rectangles Triptych

Tranformations, Étanche (Waterproof)

a selection of 10 laser prints from a series of 21 original plotter drawings by the same title created in 1976, with a title page, colophon page, and an end piece page each image is housed in a plastic laminate sleeve and bound by 2 large metal rings “Étanche” (Waterproof) is printed on a red […]

Quatre moins un (Four Minus One) Necklace

signed and numbered 1/30 on the reverse accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity published by 8+4 Gallery / Bernard Chauveau “The necklace “Quatre moins un” is the latest creation by Vera Molnar. This set is composed of 16 squares cut out of a silver plate and opened on three sides in a random fashion. […]

Six Millions Spet Cent Soixante-Cinq Mille Teux Cent Une Sainte-Victoire (Six Million, plus one hundred and sixty-five thousand, two hundred and one Sainte-Victoire)

an artist book printed in March 2012, edited by Bernard Chauveau, with an interview of the artist by David Quéré. 250 copies were printed including: 25 copies reserved for the artist and were signed and numbered from I to XXV 5 hors commerce copies reserved for collaborators and were signed and lettered from A to […]

Molndrian (J74-SR9)

signed and dated lower right in graphite “260174 19” written along the bottom edge of the paper in graphite Benson plotter paper mark printed along the bottom edge of the paper

Lettre

signed and dated in graphite lower right signed, titled, and dated in graphite on the back of the paper

Artiste et Ordinateur (Artist and Computer) Portfolio

A portfolio comprised of 10 signed and numbered computer generated images printed on 26 x 19.75″ Arches paper. All prints were made after original unique plotter drawings. The portfolio is housed in a custom box with the edition number written in graphite lower left on the front of the box. The portfolio contains a colophon […]

Rond sur Cercles (Round on Circles)

each dish is signed, titled, dated, and numbered out of 100 on the back housed in a custom made box that is signed, titled, and dated with the name of the publishers printed on the top published by Galerie 8+4 / Barnard Chauveau 6 plates (9.45 in diameter each) and 1 dish (12.59 in diameter) […]

Lettre de ma mère

Computer Drawing  in roll composed of a series of 10 drawings Original and unique print signed and dated by the artist. — Vera Molnar first started to use computers in 1968. This screen print was created from two plotter drawings that simulate the handwriting of Molnar’s elderly mother as she became increasingly unwell. In a […]

Genèse d’un Carré Magique (Genesis of a Magic Square)

signed on the reverse in ink “An engraving dated 1514 by Dürer: “Melancholy”, gives a representation of the magic square that Vera Molnar discovered in her youth. Composed of numbers from 1 to 16 arranged in 4 rows and 4 columns, the particularity of the magic square is that the sum of the rows, columns […]

Transformations (de Albrecht Dürer à Véra Molnar)

signed on the reverse in ink “Transformations (de Albrecht Dürer à Véra Molnar) is a direct reference to one of Molnar’s great masters combined with forms that first emerged in 1994. This new production on aluminum revisits the representation of the magic square from Durer’s engraving Melancholia…” – Bernard Chauveau and 8+4 Galerie

Portrait de ma Mère (Portrait of my Mother)

signed on the back of the aluminum “Thirty-six years after its first featuring in a picture book dedicated to her mother’s writing, “Portrait de ma mère” is another experiment in the figurative world but this time around the notion of icon. The artist not only looks to challenge herself, but also to draw on a […]

Saint-Victoire: Rien, Peu, Plus (Nothing, Little, More) Triptych

signed, titled, dated, and numbered 3/12 in ink on the reverse of “Rien” titled and numbered 3/12 in ink on the reverse of “Peu” and “Plus” “In Vera Molnar’s work, the motif of the Montagne Saint-Victoire holds a singular place as exemplified by many of her drawings, works and editions. Of course we think of […]

Les Noces de Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)

titles of individual dishes: Cinque, Dieci, Vinti, Trenta, Trenta sei, Quaranta tré. sizes variable depending on title each dish is signed, titled, dated, and numbered out of 100 on the back housed in a custom made box that is signed, titled, and dated with the name of the publisher printed on the top published by […]

Ni Queue ni Tête (Neither Tail nor Head)

A collaborative project bringing together a visual work by Vera Molnar, a composition with text by Jean-Yves Bosseur, and performance by Pascal Dubreuil. Edited and published by Couleurs Contemporaines and Bernard Chauveau. The work is housed in a custom-made portfolio box containing a folded work by Vera Molnar over six meters long that is printed […]

Collier Au dé (Dice Necklace)

signature and numbered H.C. 1/3 engraved on the reverse “From a square formed by six regular rectangles, the artist has explored all the possibilities silver offers to play with light on its surface: by being either polished, brushed, sanded, matt, etc. The order in the presentation of these different surfaces was then determined by throwing […]

O’ Sole Mio (My Sunshine)

signature and edition number 1/8 incised into side of the marble “O’ Sole Mio is an engraved Carrara marble sundial mounted on a brushed stainless steel base with a brushed brass rod designed by Vera Molnar.Inclined 45°, placed outdoor and facing North, the sundial shadow projects the universal time hour on the upper end of […]

144 Rectangles Triptych

23.5 x 23.5″ each panel left panel: signed, titled, and dated: 25/4/69 on the reverse center panel: signed, titled, and dated: 7/5/69 on the reverse right panel: signed, titled, and dated: 2/2/69 on the reverse

Inclinaison (Inclination)

signed and dated lower right in graphite signed, titled, and dated on the reverse in graphite significant handwritten notes upper left and lower left corners in graphite Benson company markings printed on the left edge of the paper

Hypertransformations

a single piece comprised of seven consecutively attached sheets each with unique images and number codes printed on the side of the sheet 75.058  15.06.04 75.058  15.07.36 75.058  15.07.40 75.058  15.07.43 75.058  15.07.46 75.058  15.07.48 75.058  15.07.51 (singed and dated on the back of this sheet) The numbers are a date code: The first set […]

A la Recherche de Paul Klee (Looking for Paul Klee)

initialed and dated within the image lower right hand drawing companion piece to the plotter print version (seen here) text from the Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR, exhibition Vera Molnar – Speak to the Eye: In 1970, Vera Molnár was inspired by a Paul Klee painting of a chessboard comprising squares filled with parallel and oblique […]

À la Recherche de Paul Klee (Looking for Paul Klee)

initialed and dated within the image lower right plotter drawing companion piece to the hand drawn version (seen here) text from the Centre Pompidou, Paris, FR, exhibition Vera Molnar – Speak to the Eye: In 1970, Vera Molnár was inspired by a Paul Klee painting of a chessboard comprising squares filled with parallel and oblique […]