I forget what a wonderful space the Haywood Gallery is and it seems to be little visited compared to the other galleries in London showing modern art. Even at 11 am on a Saturday we could walk straight in and have space to admire the art without jostling for a view at each piece.
The exhibition opens with this large wall of overlapping circles, they way the circles are placed gives them space and energy. Following this are some of her colourful striped work, such as the one in the second picture which mixes black and white with colour. Downstairs are her black and white works, most of which really make your eyes go funny when you look at them.. I loved this one with the triangles - not a piece I’d come across before, the curved lines trick your eye in a very subtle way.
Upstairs the painting nearest the stairs is the one with the elongated triangles which are an evolutions from the earlier striped work. Also upstairs are some of her bolder work. If you look at the composition of these carefully you can see the diagonal straight lines and the curved lines running from top to bottom intersecting them. The shapes are created by colour blocking the intersecting shapes.
the final room of the exhibition includes preparatory sketches and colour experiments
I almost picked Bridget Riley as my ‘inspirational artist’ for module 2 of my embroidery course, after seeing her work at this exhibition I wish I had - so inspiring.
