Fragment 4
Fragment 4
Signed Print
Bridget Riley
Screenprint, 1965
Signed Print Edition of 75
H 71cm x W 69cm
Critical Review
This signed screen print was released in an edition of 75 in 1965 and is part of the Fragment series by Bridget Riley.
Fragment 4 depicts o’s repeated at regular intervals across the canvas in rows of seven down and eight across. Yet, such a simple composition succeeds in dazzling the viewer as the circular forms are facing alternate angles. Achieving notoriety with her use of black and white, this print is seminal in Riley’s oeuvre, demonstrating the artist's ability to disorient viewers by using the simplest of geometric forms.
Riley experiments with basic structural units in her works to explore the physical and psychological responses of the eyes. The strain the viewer's eyes are placed under when trying to focus on this work frustrates the viewer: Riley’s works do not enable the eyes to settle but leave them frantically trying to adjust to what they are witnessing. Deceptively simple, great complexity lurks beneath the surface of these works as they are the result of lengthy preparatory sketching and planning.
