The JPM Modern Hungarian Art Gallery hosted the opening professional event of the anniversary year, where the city’s cultural season was inaugurated by Attila Péterffy, Mayor of Pécs; Gábor Bertók, Director of the Janus Pannonius Museum; and András Nagy, Head of the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at the JPM. The program was accompanied by a musical performance by the Ferenc Martyn Free School of Pécs.
The first exhibition in the anniversary series is now open to the public: during the renovation of the half-century-old JPM Vasarely Museum, the works of the master of optical illusions are on view until March 22 in a new setting, approximately 200 meters from the exhibition space, in the large temporary exhibition hall of the JPM Modern Hungarian Art Gallery. The selection also features works from the collection of several hundred pieces that were not previously included in the permanent exhibition and will not be on display there in the future. Moreover, with a single admission ticket, you get access to three exhibitions: not only Victor Vasarely’s works, but also the Věra Jičinská exhibition and, of course, the JPM Modern Hungarian Art Gallery’s permanent exhibition showcasing key works of Hungarian fine art.
The Vasarely 2026 – Pécs season is not only a retrospective but also a forward-looking cultural initiative. The renovated JPM Vasarely Museum will open on April 9, fittingly coinciding with Victor Vasarely’s birthday. This will be followed by the inauguration of Vasarely Square and an exhibition by Claire Vasarely, the artist’s wife, at the JPM Museum Gallery.
A large-scale contemporary exhibition at the m21 Gallery in the Zsolnay Quarter explores how the legacy of Op Art lives on in 21st-century visual and light art. During the summer, visitors can look forward to a picnic celebrating the 50th anniversary of the JPM Vasarely Museum, as well as special programs for the Night of Museums.
Vasarely’s visual legacy is also evident throughout the city: at this year’s Zsolnay Light Festival, the Path of Light is based on a Vasarely theme, while in the fall, the Early Vasarely exhibition offers a new art-historical focus featuring selections from the Vasarely Museum in Budapest. The anniversary season concludes with DesignPécs’s Vasarely-themed program series, which focuses on contemporary connections between design and visual culture.
The works of perhaps the most internationally renowned Hungarian visual artist can be found in countless locations 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. His art remains highly relevant today: the fusion of visuality, mathematics, and creativity is the driving force behind 21st-century thinking, which could also shape the future of Pécs. Vasarely’s op-art artistic language is at once playful, accessible, and endearing, yet forward-looking, autonomous, and a unique expression of creativity.
The goal of the city’s season is for Pécs in 2026 not merely to commemorate Vasarely’s legacy, but to demonstrate in a living, contemporary, and internationally accessible way how a body of work rooted in Pécs can become a defining language of global visual culture.
The Vasarely 2026 – Pécs anniversary year is being organized at the initiative and under the professional guidance of the Janus Pannonius Museum, in collaboration with the University of Pécs, the city’s cultural institutions, representatives of the local creative industry, and the City of Pécs. The patron of the program year is Pierre Vasarely, director of the Vasarely Foundation in France and grandson of Victor Vasarely.
Cultural Programs of Vasarely 2026 – Pécs
- January 13 – March 22, 2026: Plastic Units and Codable Textures – Victor Vasarely Exhibition at the JPM Modern Hungarian Art Gallery
- February 26: “Vasarely Go Home!” performance (JPM Modern Hungarian Gallery)
- March 4: Announcement of the results of the Vasarely 2026 – Pécs logo design competition (JPM Modern Hungarian Gallery)
- Starting April 9: Vasarely 50: Opening of the renovated JPM Vasarely Museum on Viktor Vasarely’s birthday. Open to visitors again from 12:00 PM
- April 16: Vasarely: Future Echoes – Exhibition by the Faculty of Arts at the University of Pécs (Nádor Gallery)
- April 9–September 15: Medicine in the Op Art Style. Vasarely’s conference posters at the University of Pécs Historical Collection (Pécs, Szepesy St. 3)
- May 28 – October 11: Vasarely 120 – Contemporary Art Reflections on Op Art (Zsolnay Quarter m21 Gallery)
- June 6 – October 15: Claire Vasarely Temporary Exhibition (JPM Museum Gallery)
- June 6: Birthday Party, 50th Anniversary of the Vasarely Museum
- June 20: Night of Museums – Vasarely Museum 50
- July 2 – August 23: Vasarely Light: light art exhibition (Zsolnay Quarter m21 Gallery)
- July 2–5: 10th Zsolnay Light Festival – Plasti-Cité // Colorful City (downtown and Zsolnay Quarter)
- November 1 – January 31, 2027: From Shape to Form. A Selection of Victor Vasarely’s Figurative Works – temporary exhibition featuring works from the collections of the Vasarely Museum in Budapest and the JPM (JPM Museum Gallery)
- October 8–18: DesignPécs – Featuring the work of Vasarely
- Mid-November: Exhibition of Vasarely-themed school art contests (JPM Csontváry Museum temporary exhibition space)
Participating Partners
- Janus Pannonius Museum – the project’s main coordinator is the head of the JPM’s Marketing and Public Relations Department; the professional project manager is the JPM’s Department of Fine and Applied Arts
- Faculty of Arts, University of Pécs (Prof. Csaba Hegyi)
- Zsolnay Heritage Management Nonprofit Ltd. – Visual Arts Center (Valéria Fekete)
- 10th Zsolnay Light Festival (Péter Pusker)
- Pécs-Baranya Chamber of Commerce and Industry – DesignPécs (Petra Katona)
- Ferenc Martyn Free School of Pécs (Géza Oláh)
- Pécs MJV Mayor’s Office, Department of Economic Development (Diána Weller), Department of Tourism Development (Márk Kincses), Department of City Marketing (Szilvia Rechnitzer), János Keresnyei, cultural advisor
- Vasarely Museum, Budapest (Márton Orosz)
- And Pierre Vasarely, director of the Vasarely Foundation in France and grandson of Victor Vasarely
