Far before Op Art was even a thing, Bridget Riley already dominated the scene.

Op Art, short for optical art, is like those trippy optical illusion gifs, but made by hand. As you can imagine, they took quite a bit of math, planning, and technical skills. Bridget had it all and inspired a whole new style of art. She said her art was created to make a statement about “absolutes”, it’s just a coincidence they also make you feel like you’re hallucinating. I assume it was also just a coincidence this all took place in the 60’s, when trippin’ (on optical illusions of course) was considered a pastime?  Anyhow, the fact that Keith Moon, drummer of legendary rock band the Who, was spotted in a shirt with her painting only reinforced the druggie prejudice.

Bridget was born on April 24, 1931 in London. Creativity ran in the family, since both her father and grandfather were printers. After attending Goldsmiths’s College and the Royal College of Art in London, it took her some time to develop her signature style. In the meantime, she had to nurse her father who was recovering from a very serious car crash. Until 1962, the work of artists like Renoir, Monet, Cézanne, and Matisse were her biggest influence. She painted a lot of copies and even “corrected” a painting by Seurat. After visiting the Jackson Pollock exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery, she felt super inspired and it had a major impact on her art! While working as an art teacher, she began to explore shapes, lines and light. It wasn't until 1965 that her black and white paintings became incredibly popular. By that time, Bridget was THE “it” girl. She was so popular, all 16 works that were on show at the Richard Feigen Gallery in NYC were sold before the exhibition had even opened! Collectors were put on a waiting list. Oh, did I tell you this was her first solo show ever? But she wasn't just popular in the 60s. Her exhibition in 1999 at the Serpentine Gallery in London attracted 130,000 visitors, the most ever for a show there.

When you’re as popular and pioneering as Bridget, you can guarantee you will get ripped off by big companies. Op Art became a commercial success and Bridget hated it. After the exhibition The Responsive Eye at MOMA her designs were copied freely by graphic designers and fashion magazines (like Keith Moon’s shirt). Bridget once said her “heart sank” as she drove from the airport down Madison Avenue, seeing shops littered with dresses based on her paintings.

Bridget still lives in London and still creates art. She hasn’t painted anything figurative for over 65 years. Why would you if you are one of the top ten most expensive living British artists? She's even a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, which is an honor awarded to an individual by Queen E of the UK. Brilliant!