Bridget Riley’s Intervals series represents a nuanced exploration of rhythm, repetition, and the subtle shifts that define visual experience. In this series, Riley arranges vertical bands of color in carefully measured sequences, each one slightly different from the next. The spacing, width, and color of the bands change incrementally, creating a sense of flowing movement across the canvas. Through these slight variations, Riley achieves a striking optical effect, where the eye naturally follows the pattern, responding to the shifts in rhythm and tone that seem to pulse and ripple with energy.
Color is essential in the Intervals series, as Riley employs a range of hues that transition seamlessly across each composition. She selects shades that interact in surprising ways, allowing colors to merge, contrast, and reverberate with one another. The soft, harmonious gradations in the series generate a feeling of depth, as if the bands are moving in and out of focus. This creates an immersive visual experience where the bands seem to shimmer or breathe, inviting the viewer into a contemplative state, as their gaze moves across each gentle transition.
In the Intervals series, Riley captures the power of subtlety, showing how small, deliberate adjustments can create complex visual sensations. By limiting the elements to bands of color and measured spaces, she invites viewers to focus on the nuances of tone and interval, underscoring the interplay of perception and memory. Each piece within the series evokes an organic sense of rhythm, as if one were experiencing the ebb and flow of music or nature’s cycles. This series reaffirms Riley's dedication to studying the dynamics of visual perception, with each work embodying her skill in crafting art that is both minimalist in form and rich in sensory impact.