Bridget Riley Retrospective at Musee d'Art Moderne on artrepublic.com
Exhibition running from Jun 12 2008
until Sep 14 2008
Although highly acclaimed in exhibitions in the United States, Australia and Europe, the work of Bridget Riley remains little known in France. This retrospective at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris provides an opportunity to explore her work. Opening with her early Seurat-inspired canvases and concluding with her most recent works, many of which are on view for the first time in Europe, the exhibition offers a fresh perspective on her artistic output, in particular the black and white paintings associated with Op Art. Having always maintained a certain distance from this movement, the artist rather situates her work in the post-Impressionist tradition. Created especially for the exhibition, two monumental and ephemeral works – a wall drawing Composition with Circles 6 and Wall Painting I – complete the trajectory. Bridget Riley’s paintings reflect both her methodical approach and her on-going critical engagement with the history of art. Although different periods are easily discernible in the work, her pictorial vocabulary remains circumscribed to colours and geometric shapes. Variations on these elements comprise series of paintings, whose optical effects produce sensations of movement, space or light. By placing perception at the heart of the aesthetic experience, the artist invites the viewer to ponder what he is seeing – or thinks he is seeing. "The pleasures of sight have one characteristic in common - they take you by surprise. They are sudden, swift and unexpected." (The Eye’s Mind: Bridget Riley, London, Thames and Hudson, 1999). This exhibition brings together over sixty paintings from private collections and international public institutions including the Tate, the British Council, the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. A complementary selection of eighty drawings provides insight into the artist's creative process. With the curved shapes and vibrant colours characteristic of her recent works, the Bridget Riley retrospective at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris resonates with the two versions of Matisse's The Dance on view in the Museum's permanent collection. OPENING HOURS: Tue - Sun: 10.00 - 18.00 Image Credits: Image 1: Attirer 2 / Entice 2, 1974, Acrylique sur lin, 154 x 135 cm, Collection particulière Image 2: Eclat 3 / Blaze 3, 1963, Acrylique sur carton, 95,3 x 95,3 cm, Collection particulière, Londres Image 3: Mouvement en carrés / Movement in Squares, 1961, Détrempe sur panneau de fibres, 123,2 x 121,3 cm, Arts Council Collection, Hayward Gallery, Londres  |
