It was such an incredible opportunity to see the Bridget Riley exhibition which was on from 23 October 2019 to the 26 January 2020 at the Hayward Gallery in London on the Southbank. To finally see her pieces in real life after studying them at school was quite overwhelming. The pieces come to life when you see them in the flesh - no photo can ever really give you the strength of the piece than to see it there right in front of you. You approach the artwork in full, and then get up close and you become hypnotised in the illusions. Like the piece below called Cataract 3 (1967):
The waves consume you and the gradient is just so beautiful. This piece still represents Riley’s works of black and white, but bringing in the colour takes it even further. The red is so striking on this piece, that again the picture doesn’t do it justice.
When you get up close to the above painting (Detail of Song of Orpheus 3, 1978) the painting moves and it’s more than anything a book can show you. The colour range in Riley’s pieces was vast from little to no colour, to a full celebration of colours in summer like the below.
The above piece (Rajasthan, 2012) looks like a set of windows, with waves of colour bleeding in, as if the heat of the summer cannot be contained. The fiery red against the green is a complete contrast for the eyes and the grey almost brings the installation back into reality; it neutralises the palette almost giving an access point to the viewer.
The exhibition also showed her workings which was wonderful to see. The maths and method that go into creating the works is really incredible. Such precision is why Riley is an inspiration today.