Major artist Bridget Riley in DLWP show

Next Saturday sees the opening of the DLWP’s major exhibition for this summer this summer, Bridget Riley: The Curve Paintings 1961-2014, and surveys the artist’s use of the curve motif in a career spanning over 50 years.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Jun 2015, 10:31 BST
Bridget Riley exhibition at the De La Warr PavilionBridget Riley exhibition at the De La Warr Pavilion
Bridget Riley exhibition at the De La Warr Pavilion

The show launches a year of celebrations marking 80 years of the Pavilion as one of the first and most significant modernist public buildings in the UK.

The exhibition is formed from a selection of over 30 paintings and studies from throughout Riley’s career, illustrating the artist’s close dedication to the interaction of form and colour by looking at a single motif.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bridget Riley: The Curve Paintings 1961–2014 begins with early, black-and-white works such as Crest (1964), followed by paintings of twisted curves of blues, pinks and greens from the 1970s and 1980s. Recent works, including Rêve (1999) and Red with Red 1 (2007), combine curvilinear shapes with vibrant colour, described by Riley as ‘generating sweeping rhythms’. There is also a wall painting, Rajasthan, from 2012, never seen in the UK before.

The paintings are complemented by preparatory studies that offer insight into a number of notable shifts within Riley’s career. The exhibition is designed to directly connect with the building’s elegant architecture, opening out the interior space towards the sea.

A catalogue accompanies the show featuring an interview with Riley by Paul Moorhouse, 20th Century Curator at the National Portrait Gallery.

Related topics:RED