Bridget Riley: Dialogues on Art

Op art pioneer Bridget Riley in conversation with some of the world’s leading art historians and artists, from Ernst Gombrich to Michael Craig-Martin

On the occasion of a major exhibition of Bridget Riley’s (born 1931) work at the Hayward Gallery, London, in 1992, BBC Radio broadcast an illuminating series of five dialogues, each one between Riley and a well-known personality from the art world. These talks are collected in this volume, expertly edited by the art historian Robert Kudielka.

With Neil MacGregor, art historian and former director of the British Museum, Bridget Riley discusses the art of the past in relation to the present; with the celebrated art historian and theorist Ernst Gombrich she explores the perception of color in painting; with the artist Michael Craig-Martin, she addresses the theory and practice of abstraction; and with the critics Bryan Robertson and Andrew Graham-Dixon she talks about the events and travels that have shaped her life as an artist.

The publication of this newly revised edition coincides with Bridget Riley’s 2019-20 retrospective exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland and the Hayward Gallery, London.