British artist Bridget Riley has worked tirelessly with geometric forms and dizzying tessellations since the start of her career in the 1960s. Now a new exhibition at Galerie Max Hetzler throws the spotlight on her stripe paintings, the latter of which investigate the notion of perception beyond representative depiction. The Stripe Paintings accentuate the relationship between form and colour, drawing from patterns found in nature. The exhibition traces the evolvement of Riley’s style through the decades, encouraging the viewer to hone “the craft of seeing” that she has elaborated on in her written work.

Horizontal Vibration (1961) is the earliest stripe painting in the exhibition, playing on the movement generated by the varying width of forms in the centre. Evident in Après Midi (1981), however, is a departure from colour conventions, as Riley brings an expressionistic streak into the painting. This is a stylistic development that may be attributed to Riley’s encounter with ancient Egyptian art when she travelled to Egypt in 1979. More recently, her new paintings in the series feature a warmer and brighter palette, accompanied by a more fluid structure.

This is Riley’s fourth solo exhibition at Galerie Max Hetzler. It will run until 18 July.

Galerie Max Hetzler, Oudenarder Strasse 16 – 20, D-13347 Berlin, Germany

All images courtesy of the artist and the gallery.