Sims Reed Gallery is delighted to present Bridget Riley: Prints & Gouaches 1962 – 2015, a retrospective of prints by Bridget Riley, in conjunction with Karsten Schubert.

The show will encompass around 40 works, including the first print she ever made in 1962 up to some of her most recent work and will focus on complete groups including Fragments, 19 Greys, Coloured Greys, Elongated Triangles and Arcadia. It will be a rare opportunity to see these groups hung together in one place, demonstrating how each piece has a relationship with the others in the series. By viewing them together, it is a chance to see how the artist investigates colour and form through subtle yet meaningful changes.

‘Fragments’ was the first series of prints that she ever made and all seven Plexiglas works will be on show. The title reflects the fact that the prints consist of images that the artist arrived at through making studies for paintings and it was through these that she first explored the serial possibilities of printmaking. All four prints from the series ‘Nineteen Greys’ will also be on show. The four images are printed with 19 different greys and, like ‘Fragments’, developed from particular aspects of a series of studies for paintings. Other important works that complement each other will include Silvered 2, RA (Inverted), Untitled (Based on Blaze) and Untitled (Based on Primitive Blaze).

The nature of Riley’s work is such that it marries very well with the precision of screen-printing. She has used the technique consistently since 1962 and since then prints have formed a significant part of her oeuvre. Her print work has always run in tandem to her paintings and this comprehensive survey offers an accurate and fascinating reflection of the progression of styles and subjects throughout her career.

The show will be complemented by Sims Reed Gallery’s specially curated stand at The Armory Show, New York (5-8 March 2015), which will showcase 10 prints and drawings from the Zig period.

Bridget Riley was born in 1931 in London, UK, and studied at Goldsmiths College (1949–52) and Royal College of Art, London (1952–55). The artist has been exhibiting internationally since 1962 and was initially brought to prominence by the Op Art movement during the early 1960s. Notable solo exhibitions include Bridget Riley: Drawings (Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1966); Bridget Riley: Works 1959–78 (touring, 1979); Bridget Riley: Paintings from the 60s and 70s (Serpentine Gallery, London, 1999); Bridget Riley (Tate Britain, London, 2003). Bridget Riley was made a CBE in 1974, appointed the Companion of Honour in 1999, and received the Kaiser Ring of the City of Goslar in 2003. Notable awards include the International Prize for Painting at the Venice Biennale (1968) and the Rubens Prize of the City of Siegen (2012). The artist currently lives and works in London.