Sideways
Signed Print

Sideways is composed of nine vertical stripes, of thicker width than those constituting the other works in Bridget Riley’s iconic, instantly recognisable series of works featuring stripes. Seven colours have been selected, two of which repeat. Riley intended these striped works to be read horizontally, so that the effects of each colour meeting the next along the vertical axis is registered, Read in this way, Riley’s carefully constructed sequence of colours and the strong interaction of adjacent colours is optimally felt.

Carefully choosing a sequence of colours, Riley explores the subtle, varying effects of each tone on the next. Regular stripes also provide a compositional framework lacking any reference to the external world. Free of contextual and cultural baggage that permeated other artworks, this geometric form enables Riley to further explore the effects of colour. Having investigated colour in this way for several decades now, these works are unquestionably Riley’s most famous.