Blaze Study 1962

Bridget Riley made this black and white study that she called ‘Blaze’ sometime in the 60s. It’s not quite a painting, but something else - a study of visual experience using simple means. I can imagine Riley in her studio, working away, trying out different arrangements of lines, checking out the effects. Does the star spin or flicker? Does it draw you in or push you away? There is a playful element, almost like a game, trying out the rules. The hard thing with art, that I find, is to stop. When do you know that you've achieved that right kind of vibration, the thing that makes the piece really sing? Riley seems to know! This ‘Blaze’ study reminds me that painting can be a form of research, a way of testing out new ideas, and that artists are always learning from each other, building on what came before, trying something new. We are all works in progress.