Riley, Bridget (Louise) (1931– )

English painter. She is known primarily as a pioneer of op art. After brief experimentation with pointillism and colour-field painting, she developed her characteristic style in the early 1960s, arranging hard-edged black lines in regular patterns to create disturbing effects of scintillating light and movement. Current (1964; Museum of Modern Art, New York) is a fine example of her style.

In the late 1960s she introduced colour and experimented with silk-screen prints on Perspex, though she continued to create works in her familiar black-and-white style. Her work has also included stage design, notably for the ballet Colour Moves (1983).

Riley was born in London and trained at Goldsmiths' School of Art and the Royal College. She has spent her career exploring the possibilities of op art, experimenting with all the formal art elements in ways that interact with the viewer's sense of seeing. Patterns, proximity, colour interactions, and line all play a part in both Riley's art-making and the viewer's experience. A true believer in concept over execution, many of Riley's designs were actually painted by her assistants.