Coloured Greys
3 works
Bridget Riley Arcadia 4 For Sale
Bridget Riley
Arcadia 4, 2013
Screenprint
25 5/8 x 35 in 65 x 89 cm
Edition
Edition of 75
About this work
Bridget Riley’s Arcadia 4, a signed print that continues her exploration of rhythm, color, and perception through abstraction. Part of her late color works, it exemplifies her Op Art vocabulary while embracing a sense of harmony and lyricism suggested by the title Arcadia, a classical symbol of pastoral beauty and balance.The composition features repeated curvilinear forms in green, blue, orange, and white, set against a pale blue rectilinear framework. These vertical, flame-like shapes undulate across the image, creating a sensation of continuous motion, almost like leaves swaying or water rippling in sunlight.The interplay of colors produces optical vibration: green and blue establish cool stability, while orange introduces warmth and contrast. The white shapes act as visual pauses, enhancing rhythm and balance. The composition’s precision is softened by the organic flow of the forms, merging geometry with natural dynamism.Arcadia 4 is a screenprint, a medium Riley has frequently used for its ability to deliver pure, flat, and highly saturated color. The sharp edges and seamless transitions highlight her rigorous control of form, while the layering of contrasting hues generates depth and kinetic energy without the use of shading or perspective.Riley’s disciplined process results in a work that is both exacting and immersive, inviting viewers to experience how color relationships alone can create the sensation of movement and spatial complexity.The title Arcadia invokes the ancient Greek idea of an idyllic, harmonious landscape. Riley translates this concept into abstraction: rather than literal trees, rivers, or skies, the flowing forms and balanced palette evoke the sensations of nature—growth, rhythm, and balance.Like much of Riley’s work, Arcadia 4 foregrounds the act of perception itself. The viewer’s eye is never still; it shifts between colors and forms, reconfiguring them into new patterns. In this way, Riley creates a participatory experience, where art is not a static image but an event in vision.Arcadia 4 is a signed screenprint by Bridget Riley, composed of undulating vertical forms in green, blue, orange, and white, set against a pale blue framework. Exemplifying Riley’s Op Art practice, the work creates rhythm and movement through pure color relationships, balancing geometric precision with organic flow. The title connects the composition to ideas of harmony and beauty, transforming abstract form into a visual equivalent of Arcadian balance and serenity.For more information or to buy Bridget Riley’s Arcadia 4, contact our galleries using the form below.
Price on Application
Auction History
ARCADIA 6 · Bridget Riley · Sotheby's · 2019-09 · $8,302
More from this series
More series by Bridget Riley
About the Arcadia Series
Explore Bridget Riley's celebrated Arcadia series, a landmark collection exemplifying the British artist's mastery of optical abstraction. Spanning works including Arcadia 3, 4, 5, 6, and Large Fragment, this series represents a pivotal moment in Riley's career, demonstrating her refined approach to colour, rhythm, and spatial illusion.
Riley's Arcadia works build upon decades of experimentation with perception and movement, employing precise geometric compositions that engage the viewer's eye in dynamic visual experiences. The series reflects the artist's ongoing dialogue between order and organic flow, translating mathematical principles into transcendent aesthetic encounters.
Highly sought after by collectors and institutions, these pieces have solidified Riley's legacy as a defining figure in contemporary abstract art. Each work in the Arcadia series showcases her signature precision and conceptual depth, making them significant acquisitions for serious collectors.
Discover available works from this important series. Enquire for current availability and provenance details.
About Bridget Riley
Bridget Riley
Life and Practice
Bridget Riley (b. 1931, Norwood, London) is one of the foremost figures in twentieth-century abstract painting, internationally celebrated as a pioneer of Op Art. Educated at Goldsmiths College and the Royal College of Art, Riley spent time teaching before dedicating herself fully to painting in the early 1960s. Her early work — strict geometric compositions in black and white that induce powerful perceptual effects of motion, vibration, and depth — established her as a key innovator in art's engagement with visual perception. Movement in Squares (1961) and Fall (1963) are among the most celebrated works of the period, and remain among the defining images of British postwar art.Riley was awarded the International Prize for Painting at the 1968 Venice Biennale, cementing her international reputation. From the late 1960s, she began introducing colour into her work, working first with carefully limited Egyptian palettes and later a full range of hues, exploring stripe-based and diagonal compositions in which colour interaction becomes the primary subject. Her series including Orphean Elegy, The Seasons, and Rajasthan demonstrate the sustained rigour and beauty of this investigation. She continues to work from studios in London and Cornwall.