Reconnaissance

This book documents Bridget Riley's current exhibition at New York's Dia Center for the Arts, Reconnaissance, which brings together seminal paintings from the early 1960s, landmark works esteemed via word-of-mouth but not often seen. These works are shown together with others from the later 60s and 70s to chart the early career of this highly influential but--especially in the US--all-too-little-known artist. Riley's dynamically abstract paintings from the 1960s and 1970s long ago secured her a permanent place in the history of postwar art. Despite this widespread acclaim, Riley's work has been exhibited in the US only on a few occasions. In Reconnaissance, the artist's first solo exhibition to originate in the US in decades, the public will be able to examine a selection from Riley's compelling body of early work. Additionally, Riley has executed a wall drawing for Dia's galleries, which is documented here.

Bridget Riley was born in 1931 in London, where she currently lives and works. Educated at Goldsmiths College of Art and at the Royal College of Art in London, she has exhibited widely since her first solo exhibition in 1962. Among numerous group exhibitions, Riley participated in the 1968 Venice Biennial--where she won the international prize--and the 1986 Venice Biennial, as well as Documenta 4 in 1968 and Documenta 6 in 1977. Retrospectives of her work toured Europe and the world during the 70s, and she has exhibited work at institutions including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Tate Britain, London.

Lynne Cooke has been curator at the Dia Center for the Arts since 1991. She has written and edited several volumes on contemporary art and has lectured widely on the topic throughout the world.