Op Art Pioneer Bridget Riley S First U S Solo Exhibition In 15 Years Is At The Art Institute

• Courtesy Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin
• Continuum by Bridget Riley

When op art attained a faddish popularity in the mid-1960s, its leading figure was Bridget Riley (b. 1931). The British painter’s early canvases, featuring fields of dynamic black-and-white patterns, were the purest expressions of the movement’s mind-bending aesthetic. And yet Riley has always been uncomfortable with the label’s application to her work. “It was one that was imposed on me, one I dislike very much,” she has said, “because it implies an emphasis on visual tricks rather than actual perceptual experience.”

“Bridget Riley” runs through 3/8 at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan, 312-443-3600, artinstituteofchicago.org.