site

map

and

che

cklis

t

----

)

4

3

8

7

6

12

11

10

9

1.

Sam

arra

, 19

84

oil

on l

inen

80

x 68

inc

hes

2 5 I 1

6

13

I

Priv

ate

Col

lect

ion,

Lo

ndon

2.

Son

g of

Orp

heus

5,

1978

acry

lic o

n lin

en

77 x

102

1/4

inch

es

17

Cou

rtes

y P

ace

Wild

enst

ein,

N

ew Y

ork

3.

Apr

es M

idi,

1981

oil

on l

inen

91

x 7

73 /

, in

ches

Priv

ate

Col

lect

ion,

Lo

ndon

4.

And

ante

1,

198

0

acry

lic o

n lin

en

72 x

661

h in

ches

Priv

ate

Col

lect

ion,

Lo

ndon

5.

Pae

an,

1973

ac

rylic

on

canv

as

114

x 11

3 in

ches

19

15

Col

lect

ion

of N

atio

nal

Mus

eum

of

Mod

ern

Art

,

Tok

yo

6.

Ent

ice

2, 1

974

acry

lic o

n lin

en

61 x

54

inch

es

Col

lect

ion

of C

amill

e O

liver

-Hof

fman

n, C

hica

go

7.

Orie

nt 4

, 1 9

70

acry

lic o

n ca

nvas

88 x

127

inc

hes

Ber

ardo

Col

lect

ion,

$i

ntra

M

useu

m o

f M

oder

n

Art

, Li

sbon

8.

Cat

arac

t 3,

196

7

PV

A on

can

vas

88 '

h x

87 'h

inc

hes

Col

lect

ion

of T

he B

ritis

h C

ounc

il, L

ondo

n

18

14 I

9.

Mov

emen

t in

Squ

ares

, 19

61

tem

pera

on

boar

d

48 x

47

'h i

nche

s A

rts

Cou

ncil

Col

lect

ion,

H

ayw

ard

Gal

lery

, Lo

ndon

10.

Whi

te D

isks

, 19

64

emul

sion

on

boar

d

41 x

39

inch

es

Priv

ate

Col

lect

ion,

Lo

ndon

11.

Cre

st,

1964

em

ulsi

on o

n bo

ard

65 'h

x 6

5 'h

inc

hes

(dia

gona

l)

Col

lect

ion

of T

he B

ritis

h C

ounc

il,

Lond

on

12.

Dis

turb

ance

, 19

64

emul

sion

on

canv

as

68 x

68

inch

es

Cou

rtes

y A

ustin

/Des

mon

d F

ine

Art

, Lo

ndon

13.

Pau

se,

1964

emul

sion

on

boar

d

45 '

h x

45'/,

in

ches

P

rivat

e C

olle

ctio

n,

Lond

on

14.

Com

posi

tion

with

Circ

les

2, 2

000

grap

hite

, ac

rylic

pai

nt,

and

perm

anen

t m

arke

r

on p

last

er w

all

13•/

, x

491 h

fee

t

15.

Bre

athe

, 19

66

emul

sion

on

canv

as

117

x 82

inc

hes

Col

lect

ion

of B

oijm

ans

Van

Beu

ning

en

Mus

eum

, R

otte

rdam

16.

Vel

d, 1

971

acry

lic o

n lin

en

75'h

x154

1 hin

ches

Col

lect

ion

of N

atio

nal

Gal

lery

of

Aus

tral

ia,

Can

berr

a

17.

Arr

est

2, 1

965

acry

lic o

n lin

en

761h

. x 7

5 in

ches

Cou

rtes

y P

ace

Wild

enst

ein,

N

ew Y

ork

18.

Den

y 2,

196

7

emul

sion

on

canv

as

851 h

x 8

51 h

inc

hes

Col

lect

ion

of T

ate

Gal

lery

, Lo

ndon

19.

Sta

tic 2

, 19

66

emul

sion

on

canv

as

90 x

90

inch

es

Cou

rtes

y P

ace

Wild

enst

ein,

N

ew Y

ork

C

0 ll 0 g -, ii5

.8

0 -"

(l._

~ u

( '.

t 'do

rr

( (

( 58

l

an

( an

,

~rl

·

Brid

get

Rile

y R

econ

nais

sanc

e S

epte

mbe

r 21

, 20

00-J

une

17, 2

001

ii

Dia

cen

ter

for

the

arts

54

8 w

est

22nd

str

eet

new

yor

k

Bri

dg

et R

iley

Rec

onna

issa

nce

'In m

y ea

rlier

pai

ntin

gs,

I wan

ted

the

spac

e be

twee

n th

e pi

ctur

e pl

ane

and

the

spec

tato

r to

be

activ

e. It

was

in

that

spa

ce,

para

doxi

cally

, the

pai

ntin

g 'to

ok p

lace

;" B

ridge

t R

iley

sum

mar

ized

with

cha

ract

eris

tic i

ncis

ive

clar

ity. '

The

n, l

ittle

by

little

, an

d, to

som

e ex

tent

de

liber

atel

y, I

mad

e it

go t

he o

ther

way

, ope

ning

up

an in

terio

r sp

ace,

as

it w

ere,

so

that

th

ere

was

a l

ayer

ed, s

hallo

w d

epth

. It

is im

port

ant

that

the

pai

ntin

g ca

n be

inha

bite

d, s

o th

at t

he m

ind'

s ey

e, o

r th

e ey

e's

min

d, c

an m

ove

abou

t it

cred

ibly

."

Dee

ply

reve

alin

g in

its

crys

talli

ne a

cuity

, thi

s te

rse

stat

emen

t m

ade

at a

crit

ical

junc

ture

in

19

88,

the

endp

oint

of

a m

omen

tous

ser

ies

of w

orks

, sp

rings

to

min

d w

hen

first

ent

erin

g he

r ex

hibi

tion

at D

ia. T

he E

gypt

ian

serie

s, a

s th

ey h

ave

com

e to

be

fam

iliar

ly k

now

n,

deve

lope

d af

ter

a vi

sit

Rile

y m

ade

to t

he N

ile V

alle

y in

the

win

ter

of 1

979-

1980

. O

ther

, re

late

d gr

oupi

ngs

of w

orks

can

be

iden

tifie

d ac

ross

the

cou

rse

of w

hat

is n

ow a

lmos

t a

fort

y-ye

ar-lo

ng

care

er,

but

it w

as t

his

grou

p th

at c

reat

ed t

he p

ivot

al c

hang

e of

dire

ctio

n,

the

fund

amen

tal

reor

ient

atio

n in

her

aes

thet

ic.

App

ropr

iatin

g a

pale

tte d

raw

n fr

om

mem

ory

of t

hose

fiv

e hu

es c

odifi

ed i

n ov

er th

ree

thou

sand

yea

rs o

f us

e by

ear

ly E

gypt

ian

artis

ts-r

ed,

blue

, tur

quoi

se,

gree

n, a

nd o

chre

-plu

s bl

ack

and

whi

te,

thes

e pa

intin

gs a

re

com

pose

d in

long

par

alle

l st

ripes

.' B

ecau

se s

trip

es h

ave

very

litt

le b

ody

and

are

mos

tly

'edg

es,"

and

bec

ause

the

int

erac

tion

betw

een

colo

rs i

s m

ost

inte

nse

whe

n th

ey b

orde

r ea

ch o

ther

, the

y of

fer

the

poss

ibili

ty o

f m

axim

al c

hrom

atic

lum

inos

ity. T

o re

info

rce

this

effe

ct,

Rile

y no

w r

epla

ced

acry

lic p

aint

s w

ith o

ils, t

akin

g ad

vant

age

of t

heir

mor

e sa

tura

ted

and

brill

iant

hue

s; b

y al

igni

ng t

he b

ands

ver

tical

ly, s

he c

reat

ed a

vis

ual e

xper

ienc

e pe

rcei

ved

as

a ho

rizon

tal s

prea

d of

rad

iant

col

ored

lig

ht

Orc

hest

rate

d as

a s

tate

ly s

eque

nce

of g

roup

s of

str

ipes

tha

t in

crem

enta

lly b

uild

a r

elat

ivel

y sh

allo

w p

icto

rial

spac

e, A

pres

Mid

i ( 1

981)

was

am

ong

the

first

in

this

ser

ies.

Whi

te s

trip

es

intr

oduc

e a

gent

le r

elea

se f

rom

the

tau

t ar

mat

ure

of t

heir

blac

k co

unte

rpar

ts;

this

pun

ctu­

atio

n es

tabl

ishe

s a

rhyt

hm a

nd p

acin

g in

rel

atio

n to

whi

ch t

he c

hord

s of

pai

red

com

ple­

men

tary

col

ors

scul

pt a

n ev

er s

hifti

ng,

lum

inou

s, u

nsta

ble

spac

e. A

s sh

e ex

plor

ed t

he

pote

ntia

l of

thi

s re

pert

oire

of

elem

ents

, R

iley,

in t

ypic

al f

ashi

on,

grad

ually

mad

e a

num

ber

of c

ruci

al c

hang

es w

ithin

the

del

iber

atel

y re

stric

ted

lexi

con.

Firs

t, bl

ack

was

elim

inat

ed i

n fa

vor

of g

reen

and

, the

n, a

s se

en i

n S

amar

ra (

1984

),

lave

nder

rep

lace

d w

hite

. W

ithin

thi

s ca

refu

lly c

alib

rate

d se

t of

lim

itatio

ns, R

iley

disc

over

ed a

n ex

trao

rdin

ary

wea

lth o

f po

ssib

ilitie

s,

not

mer

ely

in r

efin

ing

colo

red

light

but

, mor

e si

gnifi

cant

ly, i

n pa

rsin

g sp

atia

l re

latio

ns-t

hat

is, d

evis

ing

plas

tic s

pace

thr

ough

a fr

eely

im

prov

ised

put

ting

toge

ther

of

band

s ex

hibi

ting

dist

inct

ive

and

cont

rast

ing

chro

mat

ic c

hara

cter

s-w

hich

co

uld

have

con

tinue

d to

occ

upy

her

for

year

s to

com

e. N

onet

hele

ss,

she

mad

e a

deci

sive

mov

e, fo

rego

ing

the

mor

e se

cure

ro

ute

to g

ive

reig

n to

a n

eed

to m

ove

the

view

er's

eye

aro

und

a pa

intin

g in

mul

tiple

dire

c­tio

ns a

nd a

long

div

erge

nt a

xes,

ear

lier

man

ifest

ed i

n su

ch w

orks

as

Sta

tic 2

(19

66)

and

Den

y 2

(196

7),

both

inst

alle

d he

re in

the

final

roo

m o

f th

e ex

hibi

tion.

Rev

ealin

gly,

it w

as t

o be

sev

eral

yea

rs b

efor

e a

new

voc

abul

ary

and

pale

tte w

ould

em

erge

fro

m w

hich

equ

ally

co

nfid

ent

and

chal

leng

ing

pain

tings

cou

ld b

e co

nstr

ucte

d. I

n th

ose,

as

in th

e su

bseq

uent

an

d m

ost

rece

nt b

ody

of w

ork,

her

abi

ding

pre

occu

patio

n ha

s re

mai

ned

the

crea

tion

of

this

pla

stic

pic

toria

l sp

ace

by m

eans

of

colo

r re

latio

ns.

Sim

ilar

mov

es, a

lbei

t le

ss m

omen

tous

one

s, m

ark

the

cour

se o

f R

iley'

s oe

uvre

. Prio

r to

the

E

gypt

ian

serie

s, s

he h

ad w

orke

d on

a g

roup

of

pain

tings

tha

t w

ere

equa

lly r

efin

ed i

n th

eir

·olle

c

,ch

ed

clos

e-to

ned

pale

tte b

ut m

ore

visu

ally

com

plex

in

com

posi

tion,

in

that

lon

g, s

low

, nar

row

cu

rves

of

vary

ing

thin

ness

tw

iste

d ar

ound

and

ove

r ea

ch o

ther

in

a de

licat

e ly

rical

flo

w.

Com

parin

g th

ese

subt

le w

orks

with

Rile

y's

first

for

ays

into

col

or p

rove

s ill

umin

atin

g, a

s m

ay b

e se

en b

y w

alki

ng f

rom

And

ante

1

( 198

0),

also

hun

g in

the

first

gal

lery

, to

Cat

arac

t 3

(196

7),

loca

ted

in th

e se

cond

, in

whi

ch a

neu

tral

gre

y w

avel

ike

strip

e gr

adua

lly s

epar

ates

in

to i

ts w

arm

er a

nd c

oole

r to

nes

until

, tow

ard

the

cent

er o

f th

e fie

ld,

they

bec

ome

a pa

ir of

tu

rquo

ise

and

red

para

llel

band

s. T

his

expl

orat

ion

of c

olor

gre

w o

ut o

f a

need

to

deve

lop

the

rang

e of

war

m a

nd c

old

grey

s fo

und

in p

aint

ings

of

the

mid

sixt

ies,

suc

h as

Arr

est

2 (1

965)

, w

hich

, in

tur

n, h

ad e

volv

ed fr

om w

orks

bas

ed o

n a

spec

trum

of

tona

l gr

eys,

exe

m­

plifi

ed h

ere

in P

ause

(19

64);

th

ese

had

emer

ged

from

cer

tain

sem

inal

wor

ks b

ased

on

a sh

arpl

y de

fined

bla

ck a

nd w

hite

con

tras

t. (P

lace

d at

the

cor

e of

thi

s sh

ow, M

ovem

ent

in

Squ

ares

[ 1

961]

an

d C

rest

[ 1

964]

with

the

ir dy

nam

ic m

ovem

ent-

repo

se,

dise

quili

briu

m,

repo

se-a

re

sign

atur

e st

atem

ents

in

this

idi

om.' )

Fin

ding

her

self

conf

ront

ed w

ith p

ure

colo

r du

ring

the

evol

utio

n of

the

Cat

arac

t pa

intin

gs,

Rile

y se

ized

the

gaun

tlet.

The

pic

ture

s th

at s

hort

ly f

ollo

wed

wer

e co

mpo

sed

from

a

delib

erat

ely

limite

d pa

lette

of

thre

e hu

es-f

requ

ently

, re

d, b

lue,

and

gre

en-p

lus

whi

te.

In

clar

ifyin

g th

e ra

nge

of c

ompl

ex v

isua

l dyn

amic

s yi

elde

d by

thes

e vi

bran

tly s

cint

illat

ing

rela

­tio

nshi

ps,

Rile

y fo

und

that

she

nee

ded

to r

estr

ict

the

form

to

slen

der

vert

ical

str

ipes

and

, at

the

sam

e tim

e, w

ork

on a

larg

er f

orm

at s

o th

at a

pai

ntin

g w

ould

be

initi

ally

enc

ount

ered

as

a s

ingl

e ho

listic

ent

ity w

hose

par

ts a

nd in

tern

al r

elat

ions

wou

ld o

nly

grad

ually

rev

eal

them

selv

es o

n ex

tend

ed v

iew

ing,

as

in P

aean

( 1

973)

. The

ple

asur

es o

f si

ght-

whi

ch

she

rega

rds

as in

tegr

al f

or p

erce

ptio

n to

fun

ctio

n as

a m

ediu

m-g

ener

ated

in

this

ext

raor

dina

rily

fres

h, e

xhila

ratin

g di

ffusi

on o

f di

sem

bodi

ed c

olor

ed l

ight

mut

ate

ther

eafte

r in

to m

ore

unex

pect

ed a

nd e

lusi

ve l

umin

ous

effe

cts,

for

exa

mpl

e, a

s fo

und

in O

rient

4 (

1970

), h

ung

oppo

site

, co

mpo

sed

from

a c

yclic

al m

ovem

ent

of a

trio

of

inte

rrel

ated

ter

tiary

hue

s in

ter­

sper

sed

with

whi

te.

As

alre

ady

intim

ated

in

this

unf

oldi

ng n

arra

tive

(a to

ur t

hat

mov

es

back

in

time

in o

rder

to

circ

le a

roun

d th

e pr

esen

t),

Rile

y ap

proa

ches

her

pra

ctic

e in

a h

ighl

y rig

orou

s fa

shio

n,

taki

ng a

s he

r po

int

of d

epar

ture

an

inve

ntor

y of

pic

toria

l el

emen

ts i

nclu

ding

lin

e, s

hape

, to

ne,

hue,

or

com

posi

tion-

that

is

'the

bas

is o

f vi

sion

rat

her

than

its

app

eara

nce'

-in

orde

r to

inv

estig

ate

and

deve

lop

thei

r po

tent

ial

rela

tions

hips

. A

t on

ce s

yste

mat

ic a

nd y

et n

ever

pr

edet

erm

ined

, th

ese

expl

orat

ions

are

str

inge

ntly

pur

sued

so

that

the

res

ults

are

alw

ays

sing

ular

, spe

cific

, an

d pa

rtic

ular

to

that

ind

ivid

ual i

nsta

nce.

Con

sequ

ently

, sh

e ha

s al

way

s es

chew

ed o

ptic

al s

yste

ms

base

d on

phy

siol

ogic

al o

r ps

ycho

logi

cal

theo

ries

of v

isio

n. T

hat

Pau

l Kle

e's

sem

inal

tex

t T

he T

hink

ing

Eye

' sh

ould

hav

e be

en f

orm

ativ

e on

her

aes

thet

ic

com

es a

s no

sur

pris

e, n

or th

at M

ondr

ian

shou

ld b

e fo

r he

r am

ong

the

grea

test

pio

neer

s of

mod

erni

st a

rt.

Inde

ed s

he l

iken

s hi

s pl

ace

with

in i

ts h

isto

ry t

o th

at o

f G

iotto

vis

-a-v

is

Ren

aiss

ance

pai

ntin

g, im

plyi

ng in

add

ition

tha

t ab

stra

ctio

n is

at

the

begi

nnin

g of

a tr

ajec

tory

w

hose

lin

eam

ents

are

as

yet

bare

ly d

efin

ed. W

hile

muc

h ha

s be

en w

ritte

n ab

out

a so

-cal

led

scie

nce

of c

olor

, wha

t R

iley

disc

over

ed,

as d

id t

he g

reat

col

oris

ts b

efor

e he

r w

hom

she

re

vere

s (V

eron

ese,

Del

acro

ix, a

nd S

eura

t, am

ong

othe

rs),

was

tha

t co

lor

has

no s

yste

mat

ic,

know

able

fou

ndat

ion

but

can

only

be

hand

led

by m

eans

of

expe

rienc

e, in

tens

ive

anal

ysis

, an

d pa

tient

res

earc

h an

d in

quiry

. Her

pre

occu

patio

n ov

er th

e pa

st f

iftee

n ye

ars

with

cons

truc

ting

a ch

rom

atic

ally

str

uctu

red

plas

tic s

pace

has

mad

e C

ezan

ne a

key

m

ento

r, w

here

as,

form

erly

, Im

pres

sion

ist

and

Neo

-lmpr

essi

onis

t pr

eced

ents

pr

oved

in

fluen

tial

for

her

conj

urin

g of

lum

inou

s op

tical

spa

ce.

Rile

y de

ems

her

plac

e an

d he

r pr

actic

e as

the

refo

re

belo

ngin

g se

cure

ly w

ithin

a l

ong

and

cont

inuo

us

pict

oria

l tr

aditi

on:

her

know

ledg

e of

and

com

mitm

ent

to t

hat

herit

age

have

gro

wn

incr

easi

ngly

dee

p an

d en

durin

g. A

t th

e sa

me

time,

her

und

erst

andi

ng

of

the

task

con

fron

ting

the

pain

ter

toda

y is

one

tha

t lin

ks h

er c

lose

ly t

o he

r pe

ers,

suc

h as

Ric

hard

Ser

ra o

r, o

n oc

casi

on,

Bru

ce N

aum

an.

In th

e la

te 1

g5os

, w

hen

just

out

of

art

sch

ool,

her

first

enc

ount

er w

ith t

he w

ork

of J

acks

on P

ollo

ck p

rove

d re

vela

tory

.' D

atin

g fr

om t

he b

egin

ning

of

the

sixt

ies,

suc

h si

gnat

ure

early

wor

ks a

s M

ovem

ent

in

Squ

ares

and

Cre

st a

ttest

to

his

impa

ct o

n he

r th

inki

ng,

nam

ely,

on

the

need

she

fel

t to

stu

dy s

patia

l re

latio

ns c

reat

ed o

ptic

ally

thr

ough

a b

oldl

y pa

red

pale

tte a

nd v

ocab

u­la

ry, a

nd t

o m

ake

clar

ity o

f pu

rpos

e an

d st

atem

ent

a go

al.

For

saki

ng s

ubje

ctiv

e ha

ndlin

g in

the

gui

se o

f an

exp

ress

ive,

per

sona

lized

bru

shw

ork

wou

ld,

she

reso

lved

, pr

ovid

e he

r w

ith t

he m

eans

to

enga

ge c

lose

ly w

ith t

he r

ich

lega

cy P

ollo

ck h

ad

bequ

eath

ed.

Exe

cute

d by

ass

ista

nts,

eac

h pa

intin

g w

ould

hen

cefo

rth

burg

eon

from

st

udie

s of

pic

toria

l re

latio

nshi

ps o

ut o

f w

hich

, at

a c

erta

in m

omen

t, a

part

icul

ar v

isua

l m

emor

y or

a p

heno

men

al s

ensa

tion

is r

ecog

nize

d: o

nce

it ha

s em

erge

d, i

t m

ay th

en

be p

ursu

ed v

ia a

pai

nsta

king

pro

cess

inv

olvi

ng e

labo

rate

and

det

aile

d sk

etch

es,

as

wel

l as

ful

l-sca

le

cart

oons

, in

to a

fin

ishe

d st

atem

ent

Whi

le R

iley

toda

y re

mai

ns a

bsor

bed

with

iss

ues

stem

min

g fr

om t

he c

onst

ruct

ion

of

a pl

astic

pic

toria

l sp

ace

thro

ugh

chro

mat

ic m

eans

art

icul

ated

by

dra

win

g, s

he h

as

none

thel

ess

alw

ays

been

will

ing

to e

ngag

e w

ith w

hat

may

see

m a

t fir

st g

lanc

e ta

ngen

tial

prob

lem

s, i

f on

ly i

n or

der

to r

etur

n re

furb

ishe

d w

ith f

resh

pos

sibi

litie

s.

Thi

s re

adin

ess

to r

espo

nd t

o a

nove

l set

of

circ

umst

ance

s ha

s le

d he

r se

vera

l tim

es

to u

nder

take

pub

lic c

omm

issi

ons,

as

wel

l as

, mos

t re

cent

ly, t

o cr

eate

tw

o si

te­

spec

ific

wal

I dr

awin

gs,

the

first

at

the

Kun

stha

lle B

ern

in 1

998

and

the

seco

nd f

or

"Rec

onna

isan

ce"

at D

ia6

Com

posi

tion

with

Circ

les

2 (2

000)

m

arrie

s th

e tw

o ty

pes

of s

patia

l ex

perie

nce

foun

d in

her

wor

k to

dat

e: b

ased

in

a pa

rtic

ipat

ory

enga

gem

ent

that

occ

urre

d be

twee

n th

e pi

ctur

e pl

ane

and

the

spec

tato

r, th

e fir

st w

as a

hal

lmar

k of

her

sig

natu

re e

arly

wor

ks;

a la

yere

d, s

hallo

w i

nter

ioriz

ed d

epth

, th

e se

cond

was

fo

resh

adow

ed

in t

he E

gypt

ian

serie

s.

Enc

ount

ered

fro

m t

he g

alle

ry c

onta

inin

g he

r fir

st m

atur

e w

orks

, di

rect

ly o

ppos

ite,

the

view

er i

nitia

lly s

cans

the

mon

umen

tal

field

of

inte

rlock

ing

and

over

lapp

ing

circ

les,

w

hich

see

m t

o m

ove

back

and

for

war

d w

ithin

the

sha

llow

, in

dete

rmin

ate

spac

e th

at

cons

titut

es

Com

posi

tion

with

Circ

les

2. A

light

ing

on a

par

ticul

ar a

rc, s

egm

ent,

or

inte

rsec

tion,

whi

ch s

erve

s as

an

entr

y po

int,

the

eye

begi

ns t

o di

scer

n an

d ar

ticul

ate

serie

s of

vis

ual c

onne

ctio

ns,

rhyt

hms,

acc

ents

, an

d in

cide

nts

coun

terp

oint

ing

each

ot

her

in a

dyn

amic

flo

w,

final

ly s

truc

turin

g a

com

plex

and

div

erse

jour

ney

arou

nd t

he

surf

ace.

As

thes

e di

ffere

nt

traj

ecto

ries

are

slow

ly d

istil

led,

the

spe

ctat

or c

omes

to

appr

ehen

d ho

w t

he w

hole

has

bee

n bu

ilt i

nto

a co

hesi

ve c

ompo

sitio

n, a

virt

uosi

c pe

rfor

man

ce t

hat

depe

nds

as m

uch

on t

he e

xerc

ise

of a

n un

prec

eden

ted

ebul

lient

free

dom

as

on t

he d

eplo

ymen

t of

con

trol

. A

s su

ch,

it is

rem

inis

cent

of

cert

ain

key

wor

ks o

f P

ollo

ck,

nota

bly

Num

ber

32 (

1950

) an

d O

ne (

1950

).

Ree

nter

ing

the

galle

ry

from

the

nor

th, t

hat

is, f

rom

the

roo

m c

onta

inin

g S

tatic

2 a

nd D

eny

2, th

e vi

ewer

now

en

coun

ters

C

ompo

sitio

n w

ith C

ircle

s 2

from

an

obliq

ue a

ngle

, in

clo

se-u

p. T

his

entr

y po

int

reve

als

a se

cond

, qu

ite d

istin

ct s

truc

ture

bas

ed o

n rip

plin

g lin

ear

mov

emen

ts

that

res

embl

e si

ne-c

urve

s di

ssol

ving

and

ree

mer

ging

dow

n th

e le

ngth

of

the

wal

l. B

ut i

rres

pect

ive

of w

heth

er c

ircul

ar f

ragm

ents

, lin

ear

traj

ecto

ries,

or

visu

al f

licke

rs

gene

rate

d by

the

inte

rsec

tion

or o

verla

p of

tw

o lin

es,

rem

inis

cent

of

thos

e fo

und

at t

he i

nter

tices

of

Mon

dria

n's

mat

ure

wor

ks,

initi

ate

the

star

ting

poin

t of

the

vis

ual

jour

ney,

thi

s le

xico

n, w

ith i

ts i

mpl

icit

scaf

fold

ing,

offe

rs a

poi

nt o

f de

part

ure

for

a w

ork

base

d on

mov

emen

t th

roug

h sp

aces

, co

ncep

tual

as

wel

l as

pic

toria

l an

d ac

tual

in

cha

ract

er.

In th

is w

ay, C

ompo

sitio

n w

ith C

ircle

s 2

vivi

dly

insc

ribes

a m

etap

hysi

cs a

t th

e co

re o

f R

iley'

s ae

sthe

tic,

one

whi

ch c

an p

erha

ps b

est

be e

luci

date

d by

pie

cing

tog

ethe

r ke

y st

atem

ents

the

art

ist

has

mad

e ov

er t

he p

ast

deca

de:

In g

ener

al, m

y pa

intin

gs a

re m

ultif

ocal

. You

can

't ca

ll it

unfo

cuse

d sp

ace,

but

no

t be

ing

fixed

to a

sin

gle

focu

s is

ver

y m

uch

of o

ur ti

me.

It's

som

ethi

ng th

at

seem

s to

hav

e co

me

abou

t in

the

last

hun

dred

yea

rs o

r so

. Foc

usin

g is

n't j

ust

an o

ptic

al a

ctiv

ity, it

is a

lso

a m

enta

l one

. I th

ink

this

lack

of

a ce

nter

has

som

e­th

ing

to d

o w

ith th

e lo

ss o

f ce

rtai

ntie

s th

at C

hris

tiani

ty h

ad to

offe

r. T

here

was

a

time

whe

n m

eani

ngs

wer

e fo

cuse

d an

d re

ality

cou

ld b

e fix

ed; w

hen

that

sor

t of

bel

ief d

isap

pear

ed, th

ings

bec

ame

unce

rtai

n an

d op

en to

int

erpr

etat

ion.

We

can

no lo

nger

hop

e as

the

Ren

aiss

ance

did

that

"m

an is

the

mea

sure

of

all

thin

gs."

(198

8)'

I thi

nk t

hat

an a

rtis

t tod

ay h

as to

tot

ally

acc

ept t

his

lack

, has

to s

tart

from

a

"pla

cele

ssne

ss" v

irtua

lly a

s a

poin

t of

depa

rtur

e. (1

995)

Pai

ntin

g is

, I th

ink,

inev

itabl

y an

arc

haic

act

ivity

and

one

that

dep

ends

on

spiri

tual

val

ues.

One

of

the

big

cris

es in

pai

ntin

g-at

le

ast a

cen

tury

or t

wo,

or

may

be th

ree,

cen

turie

s ol

d-w

as

prec

ipita

ted

by th

e dr

oppi

ng a

way

of t

he

supp

ort o

f a

know

n sp

iritu

al c

onte

xt in

whi

ch a

cre

ativ

e im

puls

e su

ch a

s pa

int­

ing

coul

d fin

d a

plac

e. T

his

cann

ot b

e re

plac

ed b

y pr

ivat

e w

orld

s an

d re

verie

s.

As

a pa

inte

r tod

ay y

ou h

ave

to w

ork

with

out t

hat

esse

ntia

l pla

tform

. But

if o

ne

does

not

dec

eive

one

self

and

acce

pts

this

lack

of

cert

aint

y, o

ther

thin

gs m

ay

com

e in

to p

lay.

(199

5)

Pro

perly

trea

ted,

form

alis

m is

not

an

empt

y th

ing

but a

pot

entia

lly v

ery

pow

erfu

l an

swer

to t

his

spiri

tual

cha

lleng

e. ( 1

995)

Em

body

ing

an e

xist

entia

l ph

iloso

phy

of p

lace

less

ness

gen

erat

ed,

para

doxi

cally

, by

site

-spe

cific

ity,

Com

posi

tion

with

Circ

les

2 is

a w

ork

of e

xtra

ordi

nary

vis

ual c

ompl

exity

, th

e co

here

nce

and

cohe

sion

of

who

se u

nder

lyin

g st

ruct

ure

may

be

read

ily a

ppre

hend

ed

with

out,

how

ever

, bei

ng e

ither

who

lly c

ompr

ehen

ded

or, i

ndee

d, w

holly

com

preh

ensi

ble.

L.C

.

no

tes

1. B

ridge

t R

iley,

'The

Exp

erie

nce

of P

aint

ing"

(19

88),

in

The

Eye

's M

ind:

Brid

get

Rile

y. C

olle

cted

Writ

ings

19

65-1

999,

ed

. Rob

ert

Kud

ielk

a (L

ondo

n: T

ham

es a

nd H

udso

n, in

ass

ocia

tion

with

the

Ser

pent

ine

Gal

lery

, Lon

don,

and

De

Mon

tfort

Uni

vers

ity, 1

999)

, p.

122

.

2.

Typ

ical

ly, b

oth

othe

r ar

twor

ks a

nd e

xper

ienc

es e

ncou

nter

ed i

n th

e ph

enom

enal

wor

ld o

ffer

poin

ts o

f de

part

ure

for

Rile

y. N

atur

al p

heno

men

a an

d se

nsor

ial

impr

essi

ons

prov

ided

the

sour

ce f

or a

for

mat

ive

and

long

stan

ding

inv

olve

men

t with

the

ple

asur

es o

ffere

d by

sig

ht,

late

r

rein

forc

ed b

y re

adin

g th

e w

ritin

gs o

f S

trav

insk

y an

d P

rous

t, as

wel

l as

thro

ugh

enco

unte

rs

with

a w

ide

rang

e of

vis

ual a

rt. '

Poe

tic"

title

s ar

e em

ploy

ed a

s pr

ompt

s or

hin

ts g

alva

nizi

ng

such

sen

satio

ns.

3.

'For

m a

nd c

olor

see

m t

o be

fun

dam

enta

lly i

ncom

patib

le-t

hey

dest

roy

each

oth

er;

Rile

y

cont

ende

d in

197

8. 'I

n m

y ea

rlier

wor

k, w

hen

I was

dev

elop

ing

com

plex

for

ms,

the

ene

rgie

s

of t

he m

ediu

m c

ould

onl

y be

fully

rel

ease

d by

sim

plify

ing

colo

r to

a b

lack

-and

-whi

te c

onst

ant

(with

occ

asio

nal

grey

seq

uenc

es).

Con

vers

ely,

col

or e

nerg

ies

need

a v

irtua

lly n

eutr

al v

ehic

le

if th

ey a

re t

o de

velo

p un

inhi

bite

dly.

The

rep

eate

d st

ripe

seem

s to

mee

t th

ese

cond

ition

s;

she

conc

lude

d. 'I

n th

e sa

me

way

I h

ad to

sac

rific

e di

stin

ctiv

e fo

rms

in o

rder

to

rele

ase

the

ener

gy

of c

olor

-ligh

t; sh

e av

erre

d on

ano

ther

occ

asio

n, '[

so]

it w

as n

eces

sary

to

incr

ease

the

sca

le o

f

the

even

t to

pre

vent

foc

used

loo

king

." (1

978)

In

her

mos

t re

cent

ser

ies,

som

e fu

sion

of

thes

e

cont

rarie

s is

atte

mpt

ed a

s a

mor

e di

vers

e an

d se

emin

gly

idio

sync

ratic

voc

abul

ary

of s

hape

s

man

ifest

s in

a s

tric

tly l

imite

d pa

lette

com

pris

ed o

f a

few

clo

se-t

oned

hue

s. P

revi

ousl

y, in

the

'zig

" se

ries

a ve

ry w

ide-

rang

ing

pale

tte a

ctiv

ated

a r

estr

icte

d co

mpo

sitio

nal

form

at,

whi

ch

grad

ually

fra

ctur

ed i

nto

dive

rse

com

posi

te s

hape

s su

spen

ded

in w

hat

coul

d be

dis

cern

ed

as th

e sh

ards

of

a co

hesi

ve g

rid.

4.

Pau

l Kle

e, T

he T

hink

ing

Eye

: The

Not

eboo

ks o

f P

aul K

lee,

ed.

JO

rg S

pille

r (N

ew Y

ork:

G.

Witt

enbo

rn, 1

961)

.

5.

Tw

o sh

ows

in p

artic

ular

wer

e cr

itica

l in

brin

ging

Pol

lock

's w

ork

to h

er a

ttent

ion:

'M

oder

n A

rt i

n

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes;

sho

wn

at t

he T

ate

Gal

lery

, Lon

don,

in 1

956,

fol

low

ed b

y a

retr

ospe

ctiv

e of

his

pain

ting

pres

ente

d at

the

Whi

tech

apel

Art

Gal

lery

two

year

s la

ter.

6.

'Rec

onna

issa

nce;

the

titl

e ch

osen

for

thi

s sh

ow, r

efer

s to

rea

cqua

inta

nce

with

wha

t w

as f

or­

mer

ly k

now

n, a

s w

ell

as to

a s

urve

y or

an

over

view

. Suc

h a

pers

pect

ive

info

rms

and

fram

es

the

stru

ctur

e as

wel

l as

the

com

posi

tion

of t

his

show

. Coi

ncid

enta

lly, i

t m

ay a

lso

refe

r to

Rile

y's

revi

sitin

g of

asp

ects

of

her

earli

er w

ork

in h

er m

ost

rece

nt u

nder

taki

ng,

Com

posi

tion

with

Circ

les

2 (2

000)

.

7. T

his

and

Brid

get

Rile

y's

rem

aini

ng t

hree

quo

tes

are

from

, B

ridge

t R

iley:

Pai

ntin

gs f

rom

the

1960

s an

d 70

s (L

ondo

n: S

erpe

ntin

e G

alle

ry, 1

999)

, p.

15.

Bri

dg

et R

iley

was

bor

n in

193

1 in

Lon

don,

whe

re s

he c

urre

ntly

liv

es a

nd w

orks

.

Edu

cate

d fir

st a

t G

olds

mith

s (1

949-

1952

),

then

at

the

Roy

al C

olle

ge o

f A

rt i

n

Lond

on (

1952

-195

5),

Rile

y ha

s ex

hibi

ted

wid

ely

sinc

e he

r fir

st s

olo

show

in

1962

.

Am

ong

num

erou

s gr

oup

exhi

bitio

ns,

she

was

inc

lude

d in

the

1968

Ven

ice

Bie

nnia

l

(whe

re s

he w

on t

he I

nter

natio

nal

Priz

e fo

r pa

intin

g) a

nd t

he V

enic

e B

ienn

ial

in 1

986,

Doc

umen

ta I

V (1

968)

and

Doc

umen

ta V

I (1

977)

. Afte

r tr

avel

ing

retr

ospe

ctiv

e to

urs

in 1

970-

1971

and

197

8-19

80,

maj

or r

etro

spec

tive

show

s of

Rile

y's

wor

k ha

ve b

een

inst

alle

d m

ost

rece

ntly

at

the

Abb

ot

Hal

l A

rt G

alle

ry, K

enda

l, C

umbr

ia (

199

8); t

he

Ser

pent

ine

Gal

lery

, Lon

don

(199

9);

and

the

Kun

stve

rein

in

Dus

seld

orf

(199

9).

sele

cted

bib

liog

rap

hy

The

Eye

's M

ind:

Brid

get

Rile

y. C

olle

cted

Writ

ings

196

5-19

99.

Ed.

Rob

ert

Kud

ielk

a.

Lond

on:

Tha

mes

and

Hud

son,

Ser

pent

ine

Gal

lery

, and

De

Mon

tfort

U

nive

rsity

, 19

99.

Incl

udes

con

vers

atio

ns w

ith A

lex

Far

quha

rson

, M

el G

oodi

ng,

Van

ya K

ewle

y, R

ober

t

Kud

ielk

a, a

nd D

avid

Tho

mps

on.

Brid

get

Rile

y: P

aint

ings

fro

m t

he 1

960s

and

70s

. Lon

don:

Ser

pent

ine

Gal

lery

, 19

99.

With

tex

ts b

y Li

sa C

orrin

, R

ober

t K

udie

lka,

and

Fra

nces

Spa

ldin

g.

Brid

get

Rile

y: S

elec

ted

Pai

ntin

gs

1961

-199

9.

Ost

filde

rn-R

uit:

Can

tz, i

n as

soci

atio

n

with

Kun

stve

rein

fur

die

Rhe

inla

nde

und

Wes

tfale

n, 1

999.

With

tex

ts b

y M

icha

el

Kra

jew

ski,

Rob

ert

Kud

ielk

a, B

ridge

t R

iley,

Rai

mun

d S

teck

er,

and

conv

ersa

tions

with

Ern

st H

. Gom

bric

h an

d M

icha

el C

raig

-Mar

tin.

Brid

get

Rile

y: W

orks

196

1-19

98.

Ken

dal,

Cum

bria

: A

bbot

H

all A

rt G

alle

ry a

nd

Mus

eum

, 19

98. A

con

vers

atio

n w

ith I

sabe

l C

arlis

le.

Brid

get

Rile

y: D

ialo

gues

on

Art

E

d. R

ober

t K

udie

lka.

Lon

don:

Zw

emm

er,

1995

.

Con

vers

atio

ns w

ith M

icha

el C

raig

-Mar

tin,

And

rew

Gra

ham

Dix

on,

Ern

st H

. Gom

bric

h,

Nei

l M

acG

rego

r, a

nd B

ryan

Rob

erts

on. I

ntro

duct

ion

by R

icha

rd S

hone

.

Fun

ding

for

thi

s ex

hibi

tion

has

been

pro

vide

d by

the

Lann

an F

ound

atio

n, T

he B

ritis

h

Cou

ncil,

and

the

mem

bers

of

the

Dia

Art

Cou

ncil.