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I don’t need to introduce the work of Bridget (Louise) Riley to you. She hit stardom in the 60s with her perspective challenging geometric forms in colour and black/white, and represented Britain in the Venice Biennale in 1968. She is not just an artist but somewhat of an icon of a cultural revolution. Well, she is back, or perhaps I should say: she is still very much at it. Riley had a major show in Paris last year which not even the like of Frieze magazine could let pass uncommented and this year she won the prestigious Kaiser Ring Award of the City of Goslar. Various ‘Flashback’ shows of her work are currently touring the country. Riley seems to do quite well for herself, and in the light of her dedication it is certainly well deserved.  But what about her current show you may ask. The exhibition is simply called ‘Bridget Riley: New Paintings, Wall Paintings and Gouaches’ and that is exactly what you get- rather unimaginative, box ticking samples of her work without the electrifying visual tricks of her early days. The work on show is very consistent and unified. In fact, the work seems tailor made and this is not meant to be a pun on the Timothy Taylor Gallery which houses this latest exhibition of her work.   

However, it is not very often that an artist of Riley’s profile immortalises herself on murals, and there are several of those in this show as well as various large painting such as ‘Rhythm in Green’, ‘Arcadia 2’ & ‘3’ and ‘Changing Places’ as well as panorama like work on paper. All of the work is painted in four standard hues of muted quality: hospital green, muddy khaki, cloudy blue and a foggy orange. The paint is applied in a highly controlled manner, as it is typical for Riley’s work, and some of the original pencil markings can still be made out. The overall impression of the work is very cool and detached. It is a classical weaving of sophisticated emotions or in this case perhaps thoughts? And so we can say that this is a very meditative show dealing with space and colour in a focused and purpose full way. It is a very profound investigation into limitations, proportions and surface. She has studied the ‘supple plastic space’ through the medium of paint for the last fifty years and she is no doubt an authority on the matter. Perhaps she has been engaging for so long with the ‘epic excursion into the consciousness of time, place and memory ‘, that her journey has become a hit predictable? This is an interesting show and has given me a more rounded insight into Riley’s recent work. 

Bridget Riley at Timothy Taylor Gallery, 15 Carlos Place, W1 until 19 Dec 09 - free

Valeria Melchioretto