BRIDGET RILEY PRINTS & GOUACHES 1986 – 1995 The Armory Show New York 5th – 8th March 2015
Sims Reed Gallery The Economist Building 30 Bury Street London SW1Y 6AU T +44 (0)20 7930 5111 F +44 (0)20 7930 1555 E gallery@simsreed.com www.gallery.simsreed.com In collaboration with Karsten Schubert
FOREWORD Lyndsey Ingram To coincide with a major exhibition at our gallery in London – ‘Bridget Riley Prints 1962 – 2015’ – we are also dedicating a portion of our stand at the 2015 Armory Show to a specific period of Riley’s career. Focusing on the period between 1986 and 1995, our selection of six gouaches and five screenprints together mark an important transitional phase in her work. Referred to as her rhomboid period, the ridged vertical bands of colour that typify her earlier Egyptian stripe paintings begin to fracture into diagonal forms and planes. The interlocking bands of broken colour that emerge create a new sensation as the elements and colours recede and project. The sharp diagonal shapes of the rhomboids pave the way for her curve paintings; the works on view at the Armory clearly show this pivotal shift. The five screenprints included here summarise the various colours and shapes that Riley used during this time. The large shapes and bold colours of Shade (1992) are very different to the delicate colours and complicated matrix of forms in To Midsummer (1989). Each in their own way, the prints provide us with an understanding of this crucial period. The studies, on the other hand, offer an intimate insight into her working method. By showing several studies for the same painting – Fleeting Moment (1986) – we can see how Riley meticulously works through an idea. These small, perfectly formed gouaches burst with energy. We are delighted to be showing this rare and concentrated group in addition to our much broader London show. It is also particularly special to have the opportunity to bring Riley’s work to New York.
Study for ‘Fleeting Moment’ Pencil and gouache on paper, 1986 (detail)
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Untitled [towards ‘Fleeting Moment’] Pencil and gouache on graph paper, 1986 34.1 x 33.1 cm
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Untitled [towards ‘Fleeting Moment’] Pencil and gouache on graph paper, 1986 35.6 x 32.3 cm
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Untitled [towards ‘Fleeting Moment’] Pencil and gouache on graph paper, 1986 32.5 x 31 cm
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Study for ‘Fleeting Moment’ Pencil and gouache on paper, 1986 68.4 x 65.7 cm
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Composition with Colour Planes, Light Tones Added Pencil and gouache on paper, 1995 26.4 x 32.7 cm
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Composition with Colour Planes, Mid-tone Pencil and gouache on paper, 1995 26.4 x 32.7 cm
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To Midsummer Screenprint in colours, 1989 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 100 Plus 10 artist’s proofs Printed by Graham Henderson, London with the Advanced Graphics blindstamp Commissioned by 3i Group, London (Schubert 34) 92.7 x 91.5 cm
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Fête Screenprint in colours, 1989 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 60 Plus 10 artist’s proofs Printed by Sally Gimson, Artizan Editions, Hove Published by the artist (Schubert 35) 66.1 x 87.3 cm
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June Screenprint in colours, 1992 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 75 Plus 10 artist’s proofs Printed by Sally Gimson and Angus Wade, Artizan Editions, Hove Published by the artist (Schubert 51) 92.7 x 132.1 cm
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Shade Screenprint in colours, 1992 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 75 Plus 20 artist’s proofs Printed by Advanced Graphics, London Published by the artist (Schubert 37) 53 x 38.8 cm
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SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2014 ‘Bridget Riley’, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, US 2010 ‘Bridget Riley: Paintings and Related Work’, National Gallery, London, UK 2008 ‘Bridget Riley: Rétrospective’, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France 2003 ‘Bridget Riley: Retrospective’, Tate Britain, London, UK ‘Bridget Riley’, Galerie Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland 1999 ‘Bridget Riley: Paintings from the 1960s and 1970s’, Serpentine Gallery, London, UK 1980 ‘Bridget Riley: Works 1959–78’, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; Centrepoint Gallery Space, Sydney, Australia; Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY, US; Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, TX, US; Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, US 1973 ‘Bridget Riley: Paintings and Drawings’ 1961–1973, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester; Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield; DLI Museum and Arts Centre, Durham; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; City Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham; Museum and Art Gallery, Letchworth; City Art Gallery, Bristol, and Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK 1971 ‘Bridget Riley: Paintings and Drawings’ 1951–71, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Germany; Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Dusseldorf, Germany; Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover, Germany; Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna, Turin, Italy; Hayward Gallery, London, UK; National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic. 1968 British Pavilion (with Philip King), 34th Biennale, Venice, Italy; Städtische Kunstgalerie, Bochum, Germany; Museum Boijmans Van Beuninigen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 1966 ‘Bridget Riley: Drawings’, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, US Bridget Riley in front of Justinian, 1988 (Unknown photographer) Overleaf To Midsummer Screenprint in colours, 1989 (detail)
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Sensation of colour is a different thing, it takes in attendant qualities, so to speak, such as glitter or sombreness, buoyancy or weight, dull glow or full brilliance, impalpability or density, softness or hardness – in short a surprising variety of sensual relationships. (Bridget Riley, ‘According to Sensation’, 1990)
Published by Sims Reed Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition BRIDGET RILEY PRINTS & GOUACHES 1986 – 1995 at The Armory Show New York 5th – 8th March 2015 © All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this catalogue may be reproduced in whole or in part, without the permission from the publisher Sims Reed Gallery. All images © Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved, courtesy Karsten Schubert, London. Designed by Lucy Harbut Printed by Dayfold
Cover Composition with Colour Planes, Light Tones Added Pencil and gouache on paper, 1995 (detail)