Urgent Museum Notice

Red, Turquoise, Grey, and Black Bands

Close up of Red, Turquoise, Grey, and Black Bands

Painting shows eight sections of horizontal lines in muted hues of red, turquoise, and gray separated by thick black lines and spaces of white. Each color block is made of three colors, starting with grey and blues at the top, and moving progressively to warmer colors at the bottom.
Painting shows eight sections of horizontal lines in muted hues of red, turquoise, and gray separated by thick black lines and spaces of white. Each color block is made of three colors, starting with grey and blues at the top, and moving progressively to warmer colors at the bottom.
Bridget Riley, Red, Turquoise, Grey, and Black Bands, 1971; Gouache on paper, 27 1/2 x 27 1/2 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; © Bridget Riley

Bridget Riley’s “stripe” compositions of the early 1970s, such as Red, Turquoise, Grey, and Black Bands, explore color relationships and the connection between form and color. While earlier images from the late 1960s eschewed black in favor of pure color on a white ground, Riley’s reintroduction of black into this composition marks a new phase in the artist’s body of work.

Within Riley’s oeuvre, gouache drawings often serve as studies for larger compositions in oil on canvas or linen. The artist mixes each of the paint colors to ensure the exact hue and intensity needed to achieve the desired optical effect.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Bridget Riley
  • Title

    Red, Turquoise, Grey, and Black Bands
  • Date

    1971
  • Medium

    Gouache on paper
  • Dimensions

    27 1/2 x 27 1/2 in.
  • Donor Credit

    Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay
  • Photo Credit

    © Bridget Riley
  • On Display

    No