“My paintings initially appear to the observer in the form of a deconstructed line which recalls nothing known or familiar, whence the effect of perturbation they produce. As one moves through the work, the line progressively appears in its composed form. One is thus under the illusion that the work is creating itself before one’s eyes.” - Felice Varini

Swiss artist Felice Varini has been creating illusions of flat graphics superimposed on 3 dimensional spaces since 1979 using the same eye-deceiving technique called anamorphosis. The complete shapes can only be seen when viewed at certain angles, otherwise the viewer will only see some random broken pieces.
For Varini it’s all about your point of view.  Varini takes this idea to its extremely literal conclusion.  From the perfect perspective his painted geometric shapes seem to float in front of your eyes.

However, in reality Varini works hard to make only appear this way.  In reality his pieces are huge, cover entire structures (at times multiple buildings), and carefully prepared to be seen from a precise viewpoint.  His large optical illusions underscore the subjective nature of art – it’s all about your point of view. The vantage point (Figure 15 and 17) is carefully chosen: it is generally situated at his eye level and located preferably along a well-traveled route, for instance an opening between one room and another, or a clearing, or a landing. He then projects the form devised for the particular space onto its surfaces from the vantage point, then traces and paints.
The finished painting can be viewed from the spot where he originally placed the projector. Felice Varini tends to use simple geometric forms: squares, triangles, ellipses, circles, rectangles, and lines. These forms are usually created in one of the three primary colors: red, blue or yellow, occasionally employing some secondary colors, as well as in black and white.

Figure 15, Surrounding at ten (1999), Thouars, France, red chalk (seen from the vantage point). Dekel, Gil. “I am a Painter.” 2008. http://www.poeticmind.co.uk/interviews-1/i-am-a-painter.

Figure 16, Surrounding at ten (1999), Thouars, France, red chalk (seen from outside the vantage point). Dekel, Gil. “I am a Painter.” 2008. http://www.poeticmind.co.uk/interviews-1/i-am-a-painter.

He justifies his choice of simple geometric shapes and basic colors by saying:

“If you draw a circle on a flat canvas it will always look the same. The drawn circle will retain the flatness of the canvas. This kind of working is very limiting to me, so I project a circle onto spaces, onto walls or mountainsides, and then the circle’s shape is altered naturally because the ‘canvas’ is not flat. A mountainside has curves that affect the circle, and change the circle’s geometry. So, I do not need to portray complicated forms in my paintings. I can just use the simplicity of forms, because the reality out there distorts forms in any case, and creates variations on its own accord. The same goes for colors. Usually I use one color only, and the space takes care of altering the color’s hue. For example, if I use one type of red on a mountainside, the result is many kinds of red, depending on the mountain’s surface and the light conditions. Sunlight will affect the different areas on the surface and the same red color may become stronger or darker or clearer in certain areas, depending on how the sunrays hit the surface. The sky can be bright or dark. And if the surface has its own color or a few colors then that will affect the red that I apply on it.  So, I do not need to use sophisticated colors. The reality exists with its own qualities, shapes, colors and light conditions. What I do is simply add another shape and color in response to that.”

Varini’s concern is what happens outside the vantage point of view (Figure 16 and 18).
Where is the painting then? Where is the painter? The painter is obviously out of the work, and so the painting is alone and totally abstract, made of many shapes. The painting exists as a whole, with its complete shape as well as the fragments; it is not born to create specific shapes that need to satisfy the viewer. The paintings are not defined by the understanding of the viewer or what the viewer sees, but rather exist in their own right, and have their own relation to the three-dimensional space in which they were created. He works with the reality itself, with nature.Unlike the majority of artists, who work within strictly defined limits, Varini uses every dimension. By creating work that is not portable and cannot easily be contained, he sidesteps the temptation to make a cult object of the artwork. For him the “art object” has become a rearguard concept. Indeed he has neither a collection to sell, nor paintings to store.
He says that he is completely free from material and logistical constraints. Like a musician performing on stage, he asks for a fee from whoever is commissioning the work, whether a gallery, a collector, a town council or an arts centre. This does not prevent Varini’s works from being sold on. Once he makes a work it can be removed and remade in a different place, as long as certain guidance is followed.

Figure 17, Two Circles In Corridor, Red No. 1 (1992), Paris, acrylic paint (seen from the vantage point). Dekel, Gil. “I am a Painter.” 2008, http://www.poeticmind.co.uk/interviews-1/i-am-a-painter.

Figure 18, Two Circles In Corridor, Red No. 1 (1992), Paris, acrylic paint (seen from outside of the vantage point). Dekel, Gil. “I am a Painter.” 2008, http://www.poeticmind.co.uk/interviews-1/i-am-a-painter.

He writes a description for each work, describing its specifications, and anyone can remake it in another space following the exact instructions for the shapes, sizes, relation to each other, and relation to the space. The new space needs to have similar characteristics to the original one. The result will not be a new work, but rather a remake of the same work. He is not interested in making an object and move it, but in moving the concept, since the object can be remade in the new space (varini.org).
So apparently Varini is using optical art not to create the reality or manipulate it, but he is trying to discover more things that we can’t normally see through the space. The vantage point of the works is really very fragile. In a way it is a mechanical point of view, and it does not encompass reality.
In reality our eyes move all the time, and we cannot see with our eyes like the camera does, taking snapshots. We cannot retain a freeze frame with our eyes, so it is difficult for anyone to stand at the exact vantage point of his paintings. For Varini, the work is outside the vantage point, where reality allows for all shapes to live.