Bridget Riley: Past into Present
David Zwirner is pleased to present paintings by renowned British artist Bridget Riley (b. 1931) at the gallery鈥檚 London location. The exhibition will feature new works from Riley鈥檚 current series Measure for Measure and Intervals. Viewed together, these works underscore both the consistency of Riley鈥檚 decades-long investigation of colour and form and her relentless experimentation with perception.
Riley鈥檚 formally taut, abstract compositions yield a singular sense of visual pleasure for the viewer, a notion derived as much from the artist鈥檚 formative encounters with old master and impressionist painting as from her early experiences with nature. Since 1961, she has focused exclusively on seemingly simple geometric forms, such as lines, circles, curves, and squares, arrayed across a surface鈥攚hether a canvas, a wall, or paper鈥攁ccording to an internal logic.
The resulting compositions actively engage the viewer, at times triggering sensations of vibration and movement. This sense of dynamism was explored to great effect in the artist鈥檚 earliest black-and-white paintings, which established the basis of her enduring formal vocabulary. In 1967, Riley introduced colour into her work, thus expanding the perceptual and optical possibilities of her compositions.
On the occasion of the exhibition, a new monograph on Riley is forthcoming from David Zwirner Books, featuring new scholarship on the artist by art historian 脡ric de Chassey. Riley has been represented by David Zwirner since 2014. This is her fifth solo exhibition with the gallery.
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David Zwirner is pleased to present paintings by renowned British artist Bridget Riley (b. 1931) at the gallery鈥檚 London location. The exhibition will feature new works from Riley鈥檚 current series Measure for Measure and Intervals. Viewed together, these works underscore both the consistency of Riley鈥檚 decades-long investigation of colour and form and her relentless experimentation with perception.
Riley鈥檚 formally taut, abstract compositions yield a singular sense of visual pleasure for the viewer, a notion derived as much from the artist鈥檚 formative encounters with old master and impressionist painting as from her early experiences with nature. Since 1961, she has focused exclusively on seemingly simple geometric forms, such as lines, circles, curves, and squares, arrayed across a surface鈥攚hether a canvas, a wall, or paper鈥攁ccording to an internal logic.
The resulting compositions actively engage the viewer, at times triggering sensations of vibration and movement. This sense of dynamism was explored to great effect in the artist鈥檚 earliest black-and-white paintings, which established the basis of her enduring formal vocabulary. In 1967, Riley introduced colour into her work, thus expanding the perceptual and optical possibilities of her compositions.
On the occasion of the exhibition, a new monograph on Riley is forthcoming from David Zwirner Books, featuring new scholarship on the artist by art historian 脡ric de Chassey. Riley has been represented by David Zwirner since 2014. This is her fifth solo exhibition with the gallery.
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David Zwirner is presenting Past into Present, paintings by Bridget Riley (b. 1931), in the gallery鈥檚 Grafton Street location in London. The exhibition principally features work by Riley from the last two years, with reference to the work of the past, both in her own practice...
On view at David Zwirner Gallery until October 2. Witnessing the work of Bridget Riley is like stepping into a trance. Known for her brilliant optical illusions, Riley defamiliarizes the eye in a way that only the true masters of art can.
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