After Rajasthan, 2013 is a vivid and rhythmically charged work that encapsulates Bridget Riley’s lifelong pursuit of visual sensation. A series of twisting, ribbon-like forms unfurl across the surface in pulses of red, orange, green, and soft grey, creating a lively sense of motion that seems to shift as the viewer’s eye travels along the print. These colours—drawn from Riley’s impressions of Rajasthan—interlock and pivot with meticulous precision, yet the overall effect feels fluid, almost musical, as if the composition is breathing or unfolding in time.

Riley’s position as a central figure of the Op Art movement is deeply evident here. From the 1960s onward, she redefined how perception could be activated through purely abstract means, using colour and form not as symbols or representations but as catalysts for optical experience. Her work challenged viewers to participate in the act of seeing, making perception itself the subject. After Rajasthan continues that legacy, but with the warmth and sensuality of her later colour investigations. Instead of the stark black-and-white contrasts of her early career, this piece emphasises the emotional resonance of colour—how neighbouring hues can vibrate, oscillate, and create a dynamic interplay that feels both structured and spontaneous.

Riley’s mature style is characterised by this delicate balance between control and sensation. In After Rajasthan, the curved forms sweep forward like overlapping waves, recalling the rhythms of nature, textiles, or movement observed in a crowd, yet the composition remains anchored by her unwavering clarity of design. Colour functions as both structure and atmosphere, guiding the eye through a choreography of shifts and counter-shifts. The result is an image that feels alive—an immersive optical field that glows, undulates, and holds the viewer in a state of continual visual discovery.