Artist Decoded: Bridget Riley

29 Jan 2026 | 3 min read

Bridget Riley's latest solo show, Learning to See, at The Turner Contemporary in Margate, sheds light on her career from the 1960's to the present day. We take a look at some of her key moments and influences over her 70-year career.

Editions | Where it all began

Untitled [based on Movement in Squares]

1962

Screenprint in Black on paper | 52 x 52cm | Edition 26 Plus 1 artist's proof

This piece was included in Riley's first exhibition at Gallery One, London, in 1962. The title of this work refers to the painting Movement in Squares.

Record Auction Result

Christie's, London

Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale | March 2022

Gala, 1974 | Acrylic on Canvas | 159.4 x 159.4cm

Estimate £2,500,000 - £3,500,000

Sold £4,362,000

Exhibited at Major Institutes and is held in permanent collections

Riley has gained international recognition over her career. Her latest show at Turner Contemporary in Margate, Learning to See (22 Nov 2025–4 May 2026), shows work from the 1960's to her most recent canvases.

- Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artist’s Studio, Art Institute of Chicago which travelled to the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, and the Morgan Library, New York (all 2023)

- Major retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, which travelled to the Hayward Gallery, London (2019-2020)

- The Responsive Eye at Museum of Modern Art, New York (23rd Feb - 25th April 1965)

Permanent collections include:

Tate, UK; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; The Dallas Museum of Art; Dia Art Foundation, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art and National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

A physical approach to creating

Her main studio in Kensington is famous for being painted stark white so as not to interfere with her perception of colour.

She physically arranges her compositions of painted strips so she can move 'shapes' to see how the colours affect one another.

It is said that she has kept nearly every study she has ever made, often delving back into the archives to revisit 'unresolved problems' through her new paintings.

Influences

From Post-Impressionism to psychology and physics, Bridget Riley has drawn on a wide and rigorous range of intellectual and visual influences. Early encounters with artists such as Georges Seurat and Paul Cézanne shaped her understanding of structure, perception, and colour, while later engagement with optical science and Gestalt psychology deepened her investigation into how the eye and brain respond to visual stimulus. These sustained influences have guided Riley throughout her career, allowing her to maintain a disciplined focus on perception itself as both subject and experience.

Want more?

Browse our available catalogue →