Bridget Riley

A new large-scale multicolored wall painting by Bridget Riley is on view at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa in Texas. Titled Royal Liverpool University Hospital, 1983, as wall painting, Bolt of Colour, the mural has been conceived specifically for the museum’s special exhibition building and spans six of the eight walls of the structure, making it Riley’s largest work to date.

Royal Liverpool University Hospital, 1983, as wall painting, Bolt of Colour references the first wall painting the artist created in response to an invitation from the Royal Liverpool Hospital in the United Kingdom in 1979. Like the original commission, the design for which was completed in 1983, the new mural at the Chinati Foundation uses a palette of blue, red, yellow, green, black, and white inspired by a visit the artist made to Egypt in 1980. The wall paintings in Liverpool and Marfa share similarities in terms of scale and spatial orientation, while both Egypt and the high desert area where the Chinati Foundation is located feature strong natural light.

Image: Bridget Riley, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, 1983, as wall painting, Bolt of Colour, 2017 (detail). Photo: Alex Marks