Tag Archives: Seurat

‘Op Art’

Seurat to Riley: The Art of Perception, Compton Verney, until 1st October 2017

Blaze IV,
Bridget Riley,
© UK Government Art Collection © Bridget Riley 2017. All rights reserved

Regular readers of my blog may recall that in October 2015 I posted about a small but enjoyable exhibition Bridget Riley: Learning from Seurat at the Courtauld Gallery and now in this large-scale show at Compton Verney this debt is re-visited and much expanded upon.

La Luzerne, Saint-Denis,
Georges Seurat,
© Scottish National Gallery

It reminds us that since the 19th century some artists have been fascinated by the way in which the eye sees optical illusions as it responds to visual stimuli and this point is well proven in this exhibition. Ninety diverse ‘Op Art’ works are featured in the show, including pieces by Victor Vasarely, Julio Le Parc, Jeffrey Steele, Jesus Rafael Soto, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Peter Sedgley, Liliane Lijn and, of course, Bridget Riley and Seurat.

Our Spectral Vision,2016,
Liz West.
Photo (c) Hannah Devereux

Professor Steven Parissien, Director of Compton Verney sums it up: “Optical Art explores a range of effects and emotions, using complex geometry and advanced mathematics to communicate with the viewer in a way that is simultaneously mentally challenging and visually appealing. This wonderful exhibition demonstrates just how exhilarating, electrifying and (quite literally) eye-opening Op Art can be.”

The show is curated by Penelope Sexton and Dr Frances Follin and appropriately enough supported by Farrow & Ball.

Pulse 05,
White Earthenware, Underglaze colour, matt glaze, 2012.
Sara Moorhouse,
(c) Sara Moorhouse

http://www.comptonverney.org.uk

The Courtauld Institute of Art

Bridget Riley: Learning from Seurat, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House. Strand, London WC2, until 17 January 2016

This marvellous exhibition elegantly shows how Seurat has been a major influence in Bridget Riley’s artistic output.

Bridget Riley Copy after Seurat’s Bridge at Courbevoie, 1959 Oil on canvas 28 x 35 7/8 in © Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved, courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

Bridget Riley
Copy after Seurat’s Bridge at Courbevoie, 1959
Oil on canvas
28 x 35 7/8 in
© Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved,
courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

Fascinated by Seurat’s Bridge at Courbevoie at the Courtauld.  She copied it in 1959, not directly from the painting itself as she though it would be too intimidating but from an illustration of it in R H Wilenski’s book on Seurat.  Her version which normally hangs in her studio now hangs close by to the original in this show. The other paintings show how her distinctive style developed from her move to the abstract black and white pictures and then on to her famous stripe paintings where her use of coloured stripes broke new ground just as Seurat’s use of dots of colour had done in his time. Throughout her work there is reference to the tonal qualities and light found in Seurat.

Bridget Riley Vapour, 1970 Acrylic on linen 37 3/4 x 35 3/8 in © Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved, courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

Bridget Riley
Vapour, 1970
Acrylic on linen
37 3/4 x 35 3/8 in
© Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved,
courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

courtauld.ac.uk