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Bridget Riley: A Very Very Person
The Early Years
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Bridget Riley: A Very Very Person
$5999
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
The first biography of artist Bridget Riley, focusing on her early years and the development of her art, up to her breakthrough success in the mid-1960s.
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Description
"The first biography of Bridget Riley... addresses the tantalising question: How did success arrive so suddenly for the young artist?" — Artspace
In January 1965, the international art world converged on New York to pay homage to a brilliant new star. The glittering opening of The Responsive Eye, a major exhibition of abstract painting at the Museum of Modern Art, signalled the latest phenomenon, op art — and its centre of attention was a young painter named Bridget Riley, whose dazzling painting Current appeared on the cover of the catalogue.
Riley's first solo show in New York sold out, and, following a feature in Vogue magazine, the "Riley look" became a fashion craze. Overnight, she had become a sensation, yet only three years earlier, she was a virtual unknown. How did success arrive so suddenly?
Authored by the acclaimed curator and writer Paul Moorhouse, A Very Very Person is the first biography of Bridget Riley and addresses that tantalising question. Focusing on her early years, it tells the story of a remarkable woman whose art and life were entwined in surprising ways. This intimate narrative explores Riley's wartime childhood spent in the idyllic Cornish countryside, her subsequent struggles to find her way as an artist, and the personal challenges she faced before finally arriving as one of the world's most celebrated artists in Swinging 1960s London.
AUTHOR: Paul Moorhouse is an art historian and curator. He was Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, London (2005–17), and Senior Curator at Tate, London (1985–2005), where he curated a major Bridget Riley retrospective exhibition in 2003. Recent books include Cindy Sherman (2014), Bridget Riley: From Life (2010), the award-winning Gerhard Richter: Painting Appearances (2009), Pop Art Portraits (2007), and Richard Long: Walking the Line (2003).
SELLING POINTS:
- First biography of Bridget Riley, one of the most recognised artists of the 20th century.
- Explores the false starts and obstacles Riley encountered before her sudden huge success in the 1960s.
- New contributions to the scholarship on Riley and Op art, such as the influence of landscape on Riley's work.
Includes 11 colour and 19 black and white illustrations.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Bridget Riley: A Very Very Person by Paul Moorhouse has been praised for its informative and engaging portrayal of Riley's early years. Reviews highlight the book's focus on the critical period between her childhood and early artistic success, noting Moorhouse's effective case for the influence of landscape on Riley's style. It is considered a thorough and sensitive biography that enriches the understanding of this prominent British artist's path to becoming an influential figure in abstract painting.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781909932500
Publisher: Ridinghouse
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 02 September 2019
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Ridinghouse
Illustration: 19 Illustrations, black and white; 11 Illustrations, color
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 147.0mm
Height: 224.0mm
Weight: 515g
Pages: 272
Collections
About the Author
Paul Moorhouse is an art historian and curator. He was Senior Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, London (2005–17) and Senior Curator at Tate, London (1985–2005), where he curated a major Bridget Riley retrospective exhibition in 2003. Recent books include Cindy Sherman (2014), Bridget Riley: From Life (2010), the award-winning Gerhard Richter: Painting Appearances (2009), Pop Art Portraits (2007) and Richard Long: Walking the Line (2003).
Bridget Riley was born in 1931 in London, UK, and studied at Goldsmiths College (1949–52) and Royal College of Art, London (1952–55). She initially came to prominence as part of the Op art movement in the early 1960s and has been exhibiting internationally since 1962. She has had notable solo at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Serpentine Gallery, London, and Tate Britain, London. 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. She currently lives and works in London.
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