Sworders Modern British & 20th Century Art 20 April 2021

60 Each lot is subject to Buyer’s Premium at 30% inclusive of VAT @ 20% Lots marked * will be subject to an additional fee - please see ARR details on page 136 MODERN BRITISH, 20TH CENTURY AND CONTEMPORARY ART 104-308 Lot 117 *Bridget Riley CH (b.1931) ‘Fragment 3’ screenprint on perspex, signed and dated ‘65 l.l., from an edition of 75 with 4 artist’s proofs 59 x 78cm £15,000 - 20,000 From the series of 7 ‘Fragments’, published by the Robert Fraser Gallery. Bridget Riley came to prominence in the early 60s with her experiments in Op Art - abstract art that created an optical illusion. Sometimes using colour, Op Art tricked the eye, creating the deception of warping, vibrating or flashing. At this period of her career, Riley was mainly working in black and white, which created the very strong and now iconic images synonymous with the 60s. The series of ‘Fragments’ were published in an edition of 75. In the exhibition catalogue at the Robert Fraser Gallery, Riley explained: ‘During the preparatory work for a painting, I may make images which are tangential to the problems posed by the particular painting. Some of these images I return to and develop later, others remain as fragments of a theme. These prints are a selection of such fragments in my folios and cover a period from 1962-1965’. Printed on the back of a clear perspex sheet, the brilliant white background was then printed over the top. Riley was experimenting with new, modern materials and the result is very sharp and bold. Bridget Riley - early 1960s Ida Kar/Mary Evans Picture Library