Bridget Riley

Juda Rowan Gallery, London
Acquired directly from the above by the previous owner in 1986

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate. Although the overall tonality is slightly richer and deeper in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. On close examination there are three small canvas indentations with associated light rub marks at the centre of the lower extreme edge. There are three extremely light horizontal lines of indentation with a few associated minute pin prick-sized media losses at the bottom of the lower right quadrant. Upon very close examination there are two extremely faint short rub marks at the centre of the right extreme edge, and a further vertical rub mark towards the top of the left extreme edge. There is a minute surface media irregularity to the bottom of the peach strip in the lower left quadrant which fluoresces under ultraviolet light. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Executed in 1985, Bright Shade illuminates Riley's groundbreaking investigations into the optical potential of colour. The uncompromising rectangular canvas plane is articulated by alternating vertical stripes of vivid orange, pink, green, red, blue and yellow, which, when viewed from afar, create a dazzling chromatic experience. As the spectator's eye is drawn across the surface, the bands appear to constrict towards the centre, concentrating the energy and dynamism into the vital central axis of the arrangement.  Close up, the colours distort into sparkling iridescence, and where bands of pigment meet, new colours emerge.  This chromatic fusion gives the viewer the impression of light radiating from the painting's core, bringing a third dimension to our experience of the work.

As a student, Riley copied Seurat's Le Pont de Courbevoie (1886-87, Courtauld Gallery) from a reproduction.  Rejecting his meticulous pointillist technique, she instead concentrated on the artist's systematic distillation of colour and his balanced use of complementaries to delineate light, shade, depth and form. Bright Shade includes echoes of this early exploration of colour, whilst also incorporating the vigorous structural emphasis of her black and white paintings. She stated: "I had to give visual sensation more rein – my black and white paintings had been about states of being, states of composure and disturbance, but when I introduced colour in 1967, this began to change. Colour inevitably leads you to the world outside[..]" (Bridget Riley, Dialogues on Art, London 1995, p.70).

 

In the winter of 1979-80, Riley travelled to Egypt where she visited the Nile Valley and the Pharoah tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Inspired by the art which adorned ancient burial sites, Riley was especially drawn to the symbolic use of five colours, which represented aspects of Egyptian life. The present painting is from the body of work made in the years following her travels, where Riley harnessed a range of intense hues – her 'Egyptian palette' – within a formal linear arrangement. With Bright Shade, Riley engenders a dialogue between the formal structure of the stripes and notions of weight, density, brilliance and opacity. Constructive rather than descriptive, Riley's use of colour exploits its inherent instability, allowing her the freedom to create the visual interactions which would go on to dominate her work for the next decade.