44 What did meeting with Vasarely mean to you? This might sound pretentious, but it was the most natural thing in the world. At the time, I took everything for granted: I already knew that I would have an exhibition in Paris in the autumn as a third-year college student with a Swedish scholarship. It never even occurred to me that this was not normal. Just like the way my Dad gave me the Lada 1200 – which he had just received a week earlier after four years of waiting – without hesitation. The French gallerist asked for the material for the exhibition, and the embassy said Vasarely would like to meet me... I packed up the pictures, bringing my girlfriend and left. Back then most people drove to Mariahilfer Strasse to get a Gorenje freezer… The guards at the border looked really puzzled. We were the only ones waiting in line heading out of the country with a stacked roof rack. Of course, my car was pulled over for a more thorough inspection. The customs officer didn’t really know what to think about the paintings, but I helped him out. I improvised a short lecture, highlighting the epoch-defining significance of my art, placing myself and my work in an international context. I believe the officer fell under my spell, just as I have. So, finally he marked “wood and canvas” on the customs declaration. Paris and Vasarely, dreams and awakening Interlude 1987 Gordes. A The faded orange of the Citroën 2CV fails to distract attention from the beauty of the town’s main square only because Gábor’s father’s burgundy Lada 1200 is already parked in the shade with paintings wrapped in nylon, tied to its top. The gearbox of the “Ugly duckling” crackles loudly as Klárika tears the lever – protruding from the dashboard – into neutral, stomping simultaneously on the accelerator and the clutch. Victor Vasarely doesn’t wait for the engine to stall, for a man his age he climbs out of the bizarre little car rather energetically. Gábor Városi drops the cigarette butt in the drain, looking at the Master. It’s quiet, only the engine of the Zsiga* is revving: it has been pushed to its limits for thousands of kilometres. *a popular nickname for Lada cars at the time
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