13 Jul 2026 3 min read

Collector's Guide: Bridget Riley | Lozenges Series

Take a deep dive into one of Bridget Riley's most acclaimed series: Lozenges.

Bridget Riley is one of Britain's most celebrated living artists. Across a career spanning more than seven decades, she has continually pushed the boundaries of abstraction, refining and expanding her visual language with remarkable consistency.

In this editorial, we explore one of her most significant bodies of work: the Lozenges series. Produced between 1998 and 2009, the series comprises 22 editions that vary in colour, scale and composition. Together, they represent a pivotal moment in Riley's practice, demonstrating her enduring fascination with perception, movement and optical rhythm, while cementing the series' importance within both her oeuvre and contemporary art.

A Landmark Exploration of Optical Perception

Bridget Riley’s Lozenges series, produced between 1998 and 2009, represents one of the most refined developments in her lifelong investigation into visual perception and movement. Using repeating diamond-shaped forms arranged in rhythmic sequences, Riley creates compositions that appear to pulse, shift and vibrate before the viewer’s eyes. The works demonstrate how static geometry can generate a deeply physical viewing experience.

Two Blues

A Sophisticated Evolution of Op Art

Although Riley is often associated with the Op Art movement of the 1960s, the Lozenges series shows a far more mature and nuanced phase of her practice. Rather than relying on stark black-and-white optical effects, these works use carefully calibrated colour relationships to produce subtle sensations of depth, light and motion. Riley herself resisted the “Op Art” label, preferring to focus on the act of seeing itself.

Between the Two

Colour as Movement

The series is celebrated for its masterful orchestration of colour. Riley arranges contrasting and harmonising tones so that the eye continuously travels across the surface, creating an almost musical rhythm. In works such as Carnival and Two Blues, colour becomes an active force rather than a decorative element, generating visual tension and spatial instability.

Carnival

Connections to Nature and Landscape

Despite their geometric precision, the Lozenges works are deeply connected to the natural world. Critics and scholars have linked the flowing arrangements of forms to waves, shifting light and wind patterns, particularly referencing the landscapes of Cornwall that influenced Riley throughout her career. The series balances strict formal order with an underlying sense of organic movement.

About Lilac

An Increasingly Important Market Series

The Lozenges series has become one of the most sought-after areas of Bridget Riley’s print market. Recent auction activity and gallery demand reflect growing collector appreciation for these works as key examples of late 20th-century abstraction. Their combination of visual sophistication, historical importance and strong decorative appeal has made them a cornerstone series within Riley’s market.

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