I was recently in a cold, wet Central London with a couple of hours to spare. Whilst deciding what to do – desperately trying to find something to distract me from an inevitably expensive trip to either The London Graphics Centre or CassArt Islington – I remembered that this exhibition was currently on, over near the Royal Academy.
After a brisk 20 minute walk, I arrived at the very impressive – and very empty! – David Zwirmer Gallery, 24 Grafton Street, Mayfair (map). Luckily for me, there were only three other people visiting the gallery at the time, so I got to spend some time alone in each room, taking in each piece in silence.
Bridget Riley is know for her simple yet dizzying, visually confusing images. The shape, lines and colours in her work play tricks on the eyes and viewers see movement and colours that don’t exist. The images in this show ranged from small painting on canvas, to large murals filling entire walls. Sitting and staring at the murals – especially the ones consisting of black triangles in the Ground Floor galleries – I found myself trying to readjust my eyes, to catch the fleeting glimpses of diagonal, reds and greens that moved across the periphery of my vision.
I found the dot paintings, with their muted colour palettes less effecting visually, yet still beautiful to look at.
The David Zwirmer Gallery is a beautiful space and if you’re in the area before March 10th 2018, I highly recommend dropping in to take a look around.
Bridget Riley – Recent Paintings 2014-2017
David Zwirmer Gallery, 24 Grafton Street, W1S 4 EZ – visit www.davidzwirner.com for info)
Exhibition runs from 19th Jan – 10th March 2018
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