Rachel Federman, curator of “Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artist’s Studio,” discusses Bridget Riley, one of the most celebrated abstract painters of her generation.

This exhibition—the first dedicated exclusively to British artist Bridget Riley’s drawings in over fifty years—provides an intimate view of Riley's studio practice, in which the making of works on paper plays a central role. The exhibition includes more than 75 studies from the artist's collection, created between the 1940s and the 2000s. They include early figurative and landscape drawings made during her student years; black-and-white studies for Riley's best known paintings from the 1960s, when she became closely associated with the Op art movement; and a diverse array of color compositions, which have occupied her attention since the late 1960s. Together they demonstrate Riley's unceasing commitment to paper, pencil, ink, and gouache, as tools of exploration and innovation.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with new essays by exhibition curators Jay Clarke and Rachel Federman, and by art historian Thomas Crow.

This exhibition was on view at the Morgan Library & Museum from June 23 through October 8, 2023.
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“Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artist’s Studio” is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hammer Museum, and the Morgan Library & Museum.

The exhibition is made possible in part by Sophia Hudson, Patricia and Thruston Morton, Alyce Williams Toonk, and the Rita Markus Fund for Exhibitions. Support is provided by Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin M. Rosen, The Lunder Foundation—Peter and Paula Lunder Family, and Andrew Kohler and Michael Koch.
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Video by SandenWolff.