Bridget Riley - Selected Works

B r i d g et R i l ey
S el ec t ed W o r k s

Bridget Riley, (born April 24, 1931, London, England), English artist whose vibrant optical pattern paintings were central
to the Op art movement of the 1960s.
Riley spent her childhood in Cornwall and attended Goldsmiths College (1949–52; now part of the University of London)
and the Royal College of Art (1952–55; B.A.). Until 1960 she painted primarily impressionistic landscapes and figures. Her
study of the Pointillists, particularly Georges Seurat, led her to experiment with colour juxtaposition and optical effects, and
under the influence of Victor Vasarely and others, her work took on a geometric abstraction, in which intricate patterns of
black and white and, later, alternating colours were calculated to produce illusions of movement and topography. In 1965
she participated with Vasarely, Yaacov Agam, and others in a noteworthy international exhibition entitled “The Responsive
Eye” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. She won a first prize for painting at the Venice Biennale
in 1968. Her notable works from this period included Drift No. 2 (1966) and Nineteen Greys (1968).
Riley’s experiments with optical illusions continued throughout her career. In 1967 she introduced colour into her work,
making her first stripe paintings. She sometimes broke from geometric forms in the 1970s to create what she termed curve
paintings, in which waving lines give the impression of undulating movement. Notable examples include Gala (1974) and
Entice 2 (1974). In the 1980s Riley introduced diagonal lines, creating a series she called rhomboid paintings. She also
began to adapt her palette to match the pigments she saw on her travels to such countries as Egypt (Achæan [1981]) and
India (Nataraja [1993]). Her work from the 21st century took on a more lyrical quality, its forms inspired by the arabesque,
as in Rajasthan (2012). Riley also received a number of commissions for wall murals, a practice she began with the design
for the Royal Liverpool Hospital in 1983. Such pieces include Bolt of Colour (2017), a temporary work for the Chinati
Foundation, Marfa, Texas, and Messengers (2019), a permanent installation at the National Gallery, London.

Bridget Riley | Untitled (Chicago Seven) | 1971
Silkscreen in three colours on Arches paper | Signed edition of 150 | 46 x 61 cm
The entire edition was originally donated by the artist to help fund the Chicago Eight defendants. As the case was dropped
for one of the original defendants in the trial, the print is sometimes referred to as Untitled (Chicago Seven)
Under £20,000

Bridget Riley | Sideways | 2010
Silkscreen on paper | Signed edition of 250 | 33 x 46 cm
Under £13,000

Bridget Riley in her studio