Bridget Riley

Op Art - The Art of Optical Illusion

Created By Mrs. O’Loughlin

What is “Op” Art?

• “Op” is short for optical. Optical means having to do with the eye.

• You may have heard of an optometrist. An optometrist is an eye doctor.

Op Art began in the 1960’s

• Optical Art is a mathematically-themed form of Abstract art. Abstract meaning it doesn’t have to look like something.  

• The point of optical art is to confuse the eye.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget Riley was born in 1931 in London.

• Bridget Riley is a well known creator of Op Art. Her work is characterized by its intensity and its often disorientating effect.

Bridget Riley

• In 1960, she began working initially in black and white

• She evolved a style in which she explored the dynamic effects of optical phenomena or Op art.

Movement in Squares, 1961 Tempera

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyBlaze 1, 1962 Emulsion on Hardboard, 43x43 in.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyDescending, 1965

Emulsion on Hardboard, 36x36 in.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyArrest 1, 1965 Emulsion on Canvas, 70x681/4 in.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyCataract 3, 1967 PVA on Canvas, 87x873/4 in.

Bridget Riley

• Bridget RileyOrient 4, 1970 Acrylic on Canvas, 88x127 in.

Bridget Riley

• Around the 1980’s her extensive exploration of color and contrast began.

Dominance Portfolio, Blue, 1977

Bridget Riley• Orphean Elegy I

(1978)

• Ease (1987)

Bridget Riley

Bridget Riley• Echo (2000)

Silkscreen

Bridget Riley• Carnival (2000)

Silkscreen

Bridget Riley

• Bridget Riley is one of Britain's best-known artists.

• Since the mid-1960s she has been celebrated for her optically vibrant paintings which engage the viewer's sensations and perceptions, producing visual experiences that are complex and challenging.