Chant 2 1967

Bridget Riley, whose still alive and kicking, made this painting, Chant 2, with vertical lines of muted blues and reds that vibrate on the canvas. I can imagine Riley standing there, thinking about those colours. Maybe she wanted to evoke a sense of something, like music, and started lining up the marks, trying different arrangements until it started humming. I can almost see her taking a step back, squinting, adjusting, tweaking, going back and forth. The painting doesn’t offer up a story, or any clues. You have to do the work, and participate. That simple gesture, that little adjustment, can create an optical effect, a kind of visual chord. And that's when it starts singing to you. You can trace its lineage back to all kinds of other artists. Riley’s work reminds me of an ongoing conversation with other artists and other paintings. It’s a visual call and response, a conversation with notes and vibrations.