Eye-opening exhibition of abstract art unveiled

Dozens of dazzling paintings have been installed in Edinburgh’s flagship art gallery for the celebration of one of Britain’s leading abstract artists spanning seven decades.

The biggest exhibition dedicated to Bridget Riley for more than 15 years has take over two floors of the Royal Scottish Academy building.

One of the biggest exhibitions mounted by the National Galleries of Scotland in modern times, the show recalls how Riley became one of the key figures in the “Op Art” movement, which came to prominence in the 1960s when growing numbers of artists began to use geometric forms to create optical effects.

Some of her black and white and colour paintings take up entire walls in the gallery, while one room offers an insight into the painstaking preparations Riley makes to create her work.

The exhibition, which includes loans from the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tokyo’s Museum of Modern Art, features work created by the 88-year-old artist as far back as her teenage years in the 1940s, some of which are doing on public display for the first time. The most recent painting was made just a few months ago.

She has spent around three years planning the exhibition with the National Galleries of Scotland, which has hailed Riley as “one of the most original artists of our time”.

Curator Lucy Askew, curator of the exhibition that runs until the end of September, said: “Bridget Riley is an artist with a very universal appeal. She has an ability to speak to people whatever their backgrounds or age. She wants people to literally open their eyes.”