Bridget Riley

Description	british abstract painter
Dates	born 1931
Lived/Worked	London

Best known for...

for beign the leading British exponent of Op Art

Why is she important?

Bridget Riley is one of the finest exponents of Op Art,whose interest in optical effects came in part from her study of the Neo-Impresionist technique of Pointillism, with her subtle variations in size, shape and position of blocks within the overall pattern. Her work is characterised by its intensity and its often disorientating effect. Indeed the term 'Riley sensation' was coined to describe this effect of looking at the paintings, especially her early black and white pictures. Riley is fascinated with the act of looking and in her work aims to engage the viewer not only with the object of their gaze but also with the actual process of observation. "For me Nature is not landscape, but the dynamism of visual forces - an event rather than an appearance - these forces can only be tackled by treating colour and form as ultimate identities, freeing them from all descriptive or functional roles." Bridget Riley.

Historical context

The movement had its origins in the work of Victor Vasarely (1908-1997), who created tessellations and work with shocking perspectives. It also developed from the Abstract Expressionist movement that discredited the importance of subject matter. The term was coined in 1964 by Time magazine. A major Op Art exhibit in 1965, titled “The Responsive Eye,” caught the public interest. As a result, the style began appearing in print, television, advertising, album art, fashion, and interior decorating. Bridget Riley tried to sue an American company, without success, for using one of her paintings as the basis of a fabric design. Bridget Riley is perhaps the best known of the op artists. Taking Vasarely's lead, she made a number of paintings consisting only of black and white lines. Rather than giving the impression of some real-world object, however, Riley's paintings frequently give the impression of movement or colour. Riley later produced works in full colour, and other op artists have worked in colour as well, although these works tend to be less well known. Violent contrasts of colour are sometimes used to produce similar illusions of movement.

How to see her work

Some museums where works by Bridget Riley are on view: Cecil Higgins Art Gallery and Museum, Bedford, City Art Gallery, Leeds, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Tate Britain, London, Ulster Museum, Belfast, University Gallery, Leeds and Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester

Bridget Riley on the web

http://www.artrepublic.com/Posters/biography/biography.asp?artist=Riley&name=Bridget - Biography and some artworks