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Bridget Riley

Born – London, England 1931

Bridget Riley is the most important exponent of Op art in Britain. The term “Op art”, short for “Optical art”, came into use around 1965 following the exhibition “The Responsive Eye” in New York. It describes a type of abstract art that works directly on visual perception, producing an optical illusion that allows the work to vibrate. Riley studied at Goldsmith’s College of Art (1949-1952) and the Royal College of Art (1952-5), where her contemporaries were Peter Blake and Joe Tilson. Influenced by the Futurists Boccioni and Balla, and the American colour-field painters, she began to develop her optical work in the early 1960s. Initially she worked in black and white, but started to use colour in 1966. Her contribution to the Museum of Modern Arts exhibition of Op art “The Responsive Eye” (one of her paintings was used on the catalogue cover) attracted international attention. Three years later, in 1968, she won the International Prize for Painting at the Venice Biennale. In Attendance is a dazzling piece that appears to pulsate. It uses repeated bands of singing colour that subtly vary in tone and measure to enhance the overall pattern.

Masterpieces:

• Cataract 3
• Fission

Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.

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