There is no doubt about it; Bridget Riley is a national treasure. As the foremost proponent of Op-Art, Riley and her trippy shimmering optical illusions have earned her international acclaim in the art world. The Exhibition at Kettle’s Yard of Riley’s works (which has been extended until December 31st owing to its success) spans the past three decades. It focuses on colour, which Riley attributes as “the proper means for what I want to do because it is prone to inflections and inductions existing only through relationship; malleable yet tough and resilient.” The red, yellow, blue and turquoise Egyptian palette paintings, however, are visual treats pulsating with energy achieved through a perceptive analysis of the subtleties of colour.

We are presented with a revealing chronological dissection of Riley’s working methods, as finished paintings are juxtaposed with annotated studies. Indeed, Riley confirmed the exhibitions’ intentions by stating; “My preparatory work is my work.” Riley doesn’t cultivate a romanticised persona and dodge questions in order to preserve their work’s mystique. Now in her 80s she is keen to impart her knowledge, gleaned during her remarkably self-perpetuating career, and in doing so positively bolsters her paintings’ auras. Riley spent her wartime childhood in a Cornish cottage which was “primitive to a wonderful degree,” with little else to do other than to observe the endurance of nature with, what Riley terms, a “raised consciousness,” providing the impetus for her inquiries into the nature of perception. Cezanne, Mondrian, Seurat, Impressionism and her life drawing classes at Goldsmiths, which formed an exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery in March, taught her “structural thinking” to present her findings. Riley hates the word creative, thus it is her intelligence and curiosity which is so eloquently displayed in this must-see exhibition.

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