ART-SYS-MOL
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Vera Molnár
Systems of Clarity
Systems generating difference
ART-SYS-MOL
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Systems generating difference
Vera Molnár
ART-SYS-MOL
Systems generating difference
Index Code:
ART-SYS-MOL
Orgin:
Hungary / France
Field Notes:
Rule defines form · Difference through iteration · Geometry under constraint
Defining Moment:
Her early adoption of algorithmic and computer-assisted drawing in the 1960s established a method where visual outcomes were determined by predefined rules and calculated variation.

Vera Molnár

( 
1924–2023
 )
veh-rah-mol-nar

Vera Molnár’s work uses algorithmic constraint to generate visual variation.

Simple geometric units are subjected to systematic deviation.

Difference emerges through repetition.

Chance is introduced within strict procedural limits.

Form results from rule-based operations rather than composition.

How does variation emerge from constraint here?
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Molnár establishes fixed systems—grids, lines, angles—then introduces controlled disruption.

 

Deviation is never expressive or intuitive; it is calculated, incremental, and repeatable. The system remains intact as variation accumulates.

 

The work demonstrates how visual freedom can arise through adherence to rules rather than their suspension.

Position

Rule-Based Freedom

Constraints or systems generate variation. Freedom arises through adherence to rules rather than expressive choice.

In Vera Molnár’s work, visual difference emerges through strict rule-based systems that generate variation without expressive intervention.
Hard Systems
Form is governed by rigid rules, limits, and non-negotiable constraints.
Systems of Clarity
Order and coherence arise through disciplined systems and constraints.
Structure
Structure holds the work through rules, joins, and controlled relationships between parts.
Proportion
Proportion organizes coherence through measured intervals, scale, and relation.
Art
Form operates as a site for material, perceptual, and conceptual inquiry.
Image Credits
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1. Vera Molnár in her studio, rue Hallé, Paris, September 1996. Photograph by François Goudier / Gamma-Rapho.

2. Vera Molnár in her atelier. Courtesy Galerie La Ligne, Zürich.

3. Vera Molnár, Untitled, 1952. Gouache and cut-and-pasted paper on paper, 25 × 19 3/8 inches (63.5 × 49.2 cm). Rendl Endowment for Slavic Art. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, object no. 114.2020. Courtesy MoMA.

4. Vera Molnár, Draft for the cover of Pierre Barbaud, *La Musique Algorithmique*, c. 1968. Courtesy Vera Molnár Archives. Used with the artist’s permission.

5. Vera Molnár, Untitled, 1968. Plotter drawing, ink on paper, 7.5 × 7.5 cm. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024.

6. Vera Molnár, (Des)Ordres, 1974. Plotter drawing, ink on paper, 70 × 70 cm. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024.

7. Vera Molnár, Interruptions, 1968–1969. Plotter drawing, 60 × 28 cm. Courtesy Kunsthalle Bremen.

8. Vera Molnár, À la recherche de Paul Klee, 1971. Felt pen on paper, 44 × 50 cm. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024.

9. Vera Molnár, Interruptions, 1968–1969. Plotter drawing, 28 × 28 cm. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024.

10. Vera Molnár, (Des)Ordres, 1974. Plotter drawing, ink on paper. © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024.

11. Vera Molnár, Tablotin 1-3/1, 1979. Ink on paper, 280 × 410 mm. MV676-1. Courtesy Vintage Galéria.

12. Installation view: Vera Molnár, *Job from Molnar*, Vintage Galéria, 2024. Photograph by Dávid Biró.

13. Vera Molnár, Strates, 1986. Ink on paper, 295 × 420 mm. MV757. Courtesy Vintage Galéria.

14. Vera Molnár, Structure à partir de la lettre U, 2020. Acrylic on canvas, set of two canvases, each 80 × 80 cm. Courtesy Oniris Gallery.

15. Installation view: Vera Molnár, *La ligne n’a pas de fin*, solo exhibition, Oniris Gallery, 2021.

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Cover: Installation view: Vera Molnar - The Armory Show 2022, Oniris Gallery.

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All images © their respective rights holders.  
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Structual Relations
The following practices are connected through shared structural decisions in form, material, and spatial logic.

By Structural Focus

ⓘ
How are these related?
Quiet Modernism relates practices through how form is organized rather than how it appears. Connections emerge through shared structural conditions — such as repetition, constraint, spatial organization, material behavior, or duration — even when outcomes differ.

A single grouping may reflect multiple overlapping structural concerns.
Hanne Darboven
time as notation
Roman Opalka
Time as Number

In Dialogue

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