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Born in Paris, Yvaral was the son of Victor Vasarely, a French artist born in Hungary and one of the protagonists of Op Art. His career was greatly influenced by his father; he studied graphic arts and advertising at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs and began his career in constructive abstract art. In 1960 the artist became one of the founders of the Visual Art Research Group (GRAV) and collaborated with other kinetic art creators, such as François Morellet, Julio Le Parc, Joël Stein, Francisco Sobrino, Horacio García Rossi, and Vera Molnar, showing his work and theirs around the world for eight years. In 1966 Yvaral presented his first exhibition in the Howard Wise Gallery (New York). His work, focused on simple geometric compositions, seeks to generate a sensation of movement in the viewer, with optical effects of acceleration. In 1975 he coined the expression “numeric art”: works of art composed through algorithms. The artist was a forerunner of digital art, as he worked on computer-processed images. In the 1970s, he created the Renault logo and, in 1996, the Atlanta Olympic Games logo. Yvaral was selected to represent France at Artec 90 (Nagoya, Japan). His work can be found at MoMA (New York) and the Tate Gallery (London), among others.

Born in Liège (Belgium). Lempereur-Haut studied drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in his native city; he graduated in typography and worked as a specialist in technical drawing after World War I. In 1920, he joined the Groupe Moderne d’Art, promoted by Belgian writer and essayist Georges Linze, as was the magazine Anthologie, to spread the new avant-garde trends. He made illustrations and engravings for books, but in the end, he would follow the path of abstraction. In 1922 the artist befriended Czech painter and graphic artist Frantisek Kupka. In 1923 he settled down in Lille and joined avant-garde intellectuals such as painter Felix del Marle and writers Émile Donce-Brisy and Charles Rochat, with whom he collaborated in the literature and art magazine Vouloir. Between 1945 and 1958, the artist lived in Paris and took part in exhibitions at the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles with his characteristic geometric compositions of circles, spirals, and stars. In 1976, his vision was affected following a cataract operation, but he continued to paint until the end of his life, using coloured pencils on cardboard. In 1985 a retrospective was held at the Museum of Modern Art in Villeneuve d’Ascq (Lille). His work is kept at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

Dutch industrial designer. Eek studied at the Eindhoven Design Academy; he moved away from the minimalist trend and worked with humble materials in order to achieve efficiency, sustainability and social responsibility. The artist used recycled materials and in 1990 started creating his “scrap wood” cupboards. He founded a company with the designer Nob Ruijgrok and manufactured all kinds of household objects; he founded a restaurant equipped with his pieces, as well as an art gallery, all in his studio in Eindhoven.

Born in Paris. In 1910 his family moved to Brussels, where he studied with Constant Montald and Gisbert Combaz at the Academy of Fine Arts. Flouquet connected with the avant-garde of Antwerp, Berlin, Brussels, Lausanne, and Paris, sharing a studio with Magritte in Brussels. In modernist circles, he was known for his abstractions and biomorphic and geometric works. In 1921 the artist took part in the International Exhibition of Modern Art (Geneva) and, with René Magritte, in the Centre d’Art (Brussels). Flouquet was co-founder of the avant-garde group 7 Arts; he was responsible for the painting section of its magazine and its illustrator. Alongside Serguei Eisenstein, Max Ernst, Walter Gropius, Oskar Schlemmer, Victor Servranckx and others, he was a regular guest at Baroness Hélène de Mandrot’s Maison des Artistes, at her Château de La Sarraz, near Lausanne, where the First International Congress of Modern Architecture, the First Congress of Independent Cinema in 1929 and many other early 20th century revolutionary artistic manifestations were held. Hélène de Mandrot, like Katherine Dreier and Gertrude Stein, is one of the mainstays of modern art. In 1925, Flouquet founded the L’Assaut group with Jean-Jacques Gailliard and organised exhibitions under his aegis. As a leader of La Plastique Pure, he regularly exhibited abroad: Buenos Aires, Chicago, Leipzig, Madrid, Monza, New York, Paris, Philadelphia and Zurich; on his own at the Der Sturm gallery in 1925 andat the Deutsche Werkbund (Stuttgart) in 1927, founded by Henry van de Velde, who invited him. He designed many covers for the revolutionary art magazine Der Sturm. His work can be found in museums such as the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique (Brussels and Antwerp), the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Ghent) and the Musée de Grenoble; it has been exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum Lakenhal (Leiden), the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Ghent), and Tate Modern (London), among others.

One of the protagonists of the Belgian avant-garde, Servranckx was born in Diegem (Belgium) and studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts (Brussels), where he graduated in 1917 with the highest distinction and met Karel Maes, Pierre-Louis Flouquet, Marcel-Louis Baugniet, and René Magritte. Between 1917 and 1919, he developed Symbolism. From 1917 the artist took part in various group exhibitions; in 1918, together with Magritte, he developed applied arts as a designer for Peters-Lacroix’s wallpaper factory, an experience that led him from Fauvism to geometric abstraction. In 1920 he joined the La plastique pure movement. In 1922 Servranckx co-founded the magazine 7 Arts and with Magritte wrote the manifesto L’art pur: Défense de l’estéthique, influenced by Le Corbusier, Amédée Ozenfant and Pierre Reverdy’s cubist theories. Inspired by Baumeister and purists, the artist abandoned figuration for abstraction; he geometrically evoked the world of machine and technology. In 1918 he exhibited his work for the first time at l’Effort Moderne, a meeting place for Cubists since World War II; there, the artist met Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Theo van Doesburg, Fernand Léger, and Marcel Duchamp. In 1926, thanks to Duchamp, he participated in the exhibitions of the Katherine Dreyer Corporation in America and was invited by Moholy-Nagy to teach at the New Bauhaus in Chicago, an offer he refused. Servranckx received a gold medal at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (Paris, 1925). In 1926 the artist created the first “surrealist” and “organic” abstractions, before Ernst. In 1928 he exhibited at Der Sturm. He represented Belgium at the 1948 and 1954 Venice Biennials. The Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels organised a major retrospective; his works can be seen in MoMA, the Berardo Collection (Lisbon), the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza (Madrid), the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Ghent), the Musée National d’Art Moderne of the Centre national d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou (Paris),and the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique (Antwerp and Brussels). His paintings, sculptures and works on paper have been exhibited in museums such as Lakenhal (Leiden) and Tate Modern (London).

Born in Antwerp. A painter, architect, and interior designer. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, Van de Velde was one of the main founders and representatives of Art Nouveau in Belgium. The artist spent the most important years of his career in Germany, where he influenced German architects and designers. He studied at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten (Antwerp), then at Carolus-Duran in Paris. He adopted pointillism and, in 1889, became a member of Les XX. In 1892 the artist gave up painting and devoted himself to decoration and design (silver and gold, porcelain, fashion, carpets, textiles). Van de Velde showed his work at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 (Paris). Around the turn of the century he designed some villas in his Art Nouveau architectural style. The artist settled in Weimar and, in 1904, founded the Kunstgewerbeschule, laying the foundations for its merger led by Gropius with the Hochschule für bildende Kunst, which would become the Bauhaus in 1919. After returning to Belgium, he began his “second Belgian period”; in 1926 the artist set up the Higher Institute of Decorative Arts in Brussels and was appointed professor at the Institute of Art and Archaeology of the University of Ghent. Van de Velde designed several private houses, including his residence in Tervuren, the Nouvelle Maison, and the Belgian pavilions for the Paris Expo (1937), and the New York World’s Fair (1939); he also built the Municipal Library (Ghent), the buildings for the Bauhaus (Weimar) and for the Kröller-Müller Museum (Otterlo), and other works in Germany and Brussels, as well as designing Transatlantic ship interiors and furniture for SNCB trains.

Belgian painter, poet and art critic born in Termonde (Belgium). Studying at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten (Brussels), he met Victor Servranckx, who taught him the principles of non-figurative art. At the age of 15, the artist joined the Belgian avant-garde group 7 Arts. His early revolutionary works include Constructivist assemblages and non-figurative paintings meticulously balanced in solemn and subtle harmonies of colour, prefiguring those of Mark Rothko. In 1925 Eemans began to move away from non-figurative art and became Belgium’s first Surrealist painter, before René Magritte. Exhibiting with Salvador Dalí, he also became friends with members of the Societé du Mystère, a Belgian Surrealist group. His paintings from this period are inspired by the spiritual qualities of the Pre-Raphaelites, the German Romantics, and the Symbolists. In 1939 he exhibited in the Indépendants at the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam). Since then, his works have been exhibited in many places, including the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Ghent) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York). As a poet and writer, the artist collaborated with the Surrealist magazine Distances, which was managed in Paris by Camille Goeman, who was the first to deal with Dalí’s work. Once at the heart of the ideological events of the Surrealist group, he decided to abandon it to develop his solo experiences, but remained friends with Camille Goemans, Magritte and E.L.T. Mesens. His work can be found in public collections such as those of the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique (Brussels and Antwerp).

Painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, he is the most influential artist of the 20th century and, with Braque, the creator of cubism. Born in Malaga, he studied in Barcelona and Madrid. In 1900 Picasso visited Paris, where he finally settled down in 1904. His style varied considerably; at the start he used strong colours (1900 to 1901), then came his Blue and Rose Period; between 1906 and 1907, the artist was influenced by Paul Cézanne and African sculpture, which made him begin to disregard the conventional means for creating an illusion of reality and to use conceptual procedures; he paintedLes Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), the beginning of Cubism, a new pictorial language that he was to continue elaborating. In 1908 Picasso and Braque began to work along parallel paths; in 1915, as the artist was developing his Cubist style, he began to work in the opposite direction, depicting figures of a linear, sculptural, and monumental classicism. After 1925, a private Surrealist vocabulary of powerful symbols emerged to express personal distress. The Spanish Civil War inspired the Guernica, the first reference to political eventsin his work; in 1944 he joined the Communist Party. In the postwar years, much of his work was focused on war and peace and, after 1955, on the artist and his magical powers. As a stage designer, Picasso produced some decors for Serguei Diaghilev’s Russian Ballets from 1917 to 1919.

Born in Koekelberg (Belgium), Leclerq studied at the Ghent Academy. His work evolved from expressionism to abstract geometric art; his paintings are characterised by their simplicity and colourfulness. The artist made collages with paper and plastic materials and taught at the Belgian Textile Institute in his hometown.

Born in Bremen. A silversmith and industrial designer. Wagenfeld worked mostly with glass and metal; some of his designs are still being produced today. The artist attended the Kunstgewerbeschule and later became a pupil at the Bauhaus; he joined the German Werkbund. Wagenfeld refused to join the Nazi party and, as punishment, was sent to serve on the Eastern Frontas a “political nuisance”. He worked at the Bauhaus (Weimar); when it closed in 1930 due to Nazi pressure, he began to work on his own and to teach in other institutions. His most famous work is the table lamp WA 24 from 1924.

Born in Plenitz (Moravia), Hoffmann was an architect whose work was important in the early development of modern architecture in Europe. He studied under Otto Wagner in Vienna and was a founding member of the Viennese Secession in 1899, which embraced the Art Nouveau style more than Wagner. In 1899 the artist started teaching at the Universität für angewandte Kunst (Vienna) and in 1903 participated in the creation of Wiener Werkstätte, which he directed for 30 years. His initial period is marked by the design of the Sanatorium Purkersdorf. His masterpiece is the Stoclet House (Brussels), with its monumental yet elegant exterior. The architect designed the Austrian pavilions for the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition (Cologne, 1914) and the 1934 Venice Biennale. In 1920, Hoffmann was appointed municipal architect of Vienna and, in 1924 and 1925, he produced various house projects for the city.

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Born in Wexford County, Ireland into an aristocratic family. Gray studied at the Slade School of Fine Arts (London) from 1898 to 1902. Gray was originally a painter, but when she settled down in Paris in 1907, she became interested in furniture lacquering, which she learned from the Japanese master Seizo Sougarawa. In 1913 the artist exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs and attracted the attention of the collector Jacques Doucet, for whom she created the famous Lotus table and the four-panel screen Le Destin. In 1922 she opened her own shop, the Galerie Jean Désert. Her designs transcend the merely decorative, and are characterised by abstraction, simplicity, and functionality. A quintessential representative of Art Deco, her chromed tubular steel and glass furniture is much sought after. Her personal life was dramatic: she drove ambulances during World War I in Paris; Gray was part of the lesbian circles of her time, together with Romaine Brooks, Gabrielle Bloch, Loie Fuller, and Natalie Barney, and had an intimate relationship with the Romanian architect Jean Badovici, who encouraged her to experiment directly with architecture. In 1926 Gray designed the famous E.1027 house (France), which sparked Le Corbusier’s admiration and would eventually become a source of conflict between the two. In 1972 the Royal Society of Arts recognised her career as a designer, architect, and artist, granting her the distinction of Royal Designer for Industry. Her work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Architect and furniture designer born in Utrecht and renowned for his application of the principles of De Stijl. Rietveld was an apprentice in his father’s cabinetmaking business and then studied architecture in Utrecht. He joined De Stijl in 1918; during that time, he created his famous red and blue armchair which, with the insistence on geometry and use of colour, put the guidelines of this movementinto practice; so did his design—one of the first examples applied to architecture—of a small jewellery shop in Amsterdamin 1921. His masterpiece is the Schroeder House (Utrecht, 1924), which stands out for its interrelation of right-angled forms, planes, and lines,as well as for its use of primary colours. His relationship with De Stijl continued until the group was dissolved in 1931. From 1936 until the end of World War II, the artist devoted himself to furniture design. After 1945 he received important architectural commissions, such as the De Ploeg textile factory (1956) in Bergreik, a housing development (1954–1956) in Hoograven, and the art academy (1962) in Arnhem.

Architect and furniture designer born in Utrecht and renowned for his application of the principles of De Stijl. Rietveld was an apprentice in his father’s cabinetmaking business and then studied architecture in Utrecht. He joined De Stijl in 1918; during that time, he created his famous red and blue armchair which, with the insistence on geometry and use of colour, put the guidelines of this movementinto practice; so did his design—one of the first examples applied to architecture—of a small jewellery shop in Amsterdamin 1921. His masterpiece is the Schroeder House (Utrecht, 1924), which stands out for its interrelation of right-angled forms, planes, and lines,as well as for its use of primary colours. His relationship with De Stijl continued until the group was dissolved in 1931. From 1936 until the end of World War II, the artist devoted himself to furniture design. After 1945 he received important architectural commissions, such as the De Ploeg textile factory (1956) in Bergreik, a housing development (1954–1956) in Hoograven, and the art academy (1962) in Arnhem.

Architect and furniture designer born in Utrecht and renowned for his application of the principles of De Stijl. Rietveld was an apprentice in his father’s cabinetmaking business and then studied architecture in Utrecht. He joined De Stijl in 1918; during that time, he created his famous red and blue armchair which, with the insistence on geometry and use of colour, put the guidelines of this movementinto practice; so did his design—one of the first examples applied to architecture—of a small jewellery shop in Amsterdamin 1921. His masterpiece is the Schroeder House (Utrecht, 1924), which stands out for its interrelation of right-angled forms, planes, and lines,as well as for its use of primary colours. His relationship with De Stijl continued until the group was dissolved in 1931. From 1936 until the end of World War II, the artist devoted himself to furniture design. After 1945 he received important architectural commissions, such as the De Ploeg textile factory (1956) in Bergreik, a housing development (1954–1956) in Hoograven, and the art academy (1962) in Arnhem.