Bridget Riley: Paintings from the 1960s to the Present

Bridget Riley Paintings from the 1960s to the Present

British artist Bridget Riley (born 1931) gained recognition beginning in the 1960s for her abstract paintings that employ geometric patterns in order to produce optical vibrations. Riley began her career painting landscapes in the style of Georges Seurat following early artistic studies that were largely informed by Old Masters painting, Impressionism, and Pointillism which led to a dramatic change in her style. Entering the 1960s, her work became fully abstract and she utilized a reduced palette of only black and white. In 1967, Riley introduced color into her work, generating what would become a signature series of paintings that juxtapose undulating bands of color to create a strong visual sensation of movement within the picture plane. This unique style would secure her a place of recognition in the art world. Since then, Riley has continued to innovate and to create works that privilege the interaction of color and form to produce strong optical sensations that appeal to so many viewers.

In an attempt to highlight the sustained brilliance of Riley’s art, this exhibition presents more than 30 paintings that span her career—including key examples of her black-and-white works of the 1960s, stripe paintings of the 1970s, curve paintings of the 1990s, in addition to her more recent wall paintings. As such, this is the first full-scale exhibition of Riley’s work in Japan in 38 years.

Visit the exhibition website here.