Turner Contemporary opens exhibition of 26 works by Bridget Riley

An exhibition of work by British artist Bridget Riley has opened at Kent’s Turner Contemporary.

The show includes the influential 94-year-old painter’s works from the late 1960s, wall paintings from the last decade and the artist’s most recent canvases.

Senior curator Melissa Blanchflower says the Margate gallery is “inviting the public to come and have this visual experience” and nothing replaces “being in front of the painting”.

The free exhibition of 26 artworks, titled Learning to See, will run at the gallery until 4 May.

“The whole experience of bringing these constellations together adds something new,” the curator said.

Ms Blanchflower said she worked “really closely” with Riley on planning the show and it was “a great privilege to spend time with her”.

“I’ve seen many other exhibitions by her in the past and thought I knew quite a lot about her work,” she told the BBC.

“Really delving into a lot of her more recent practice with her has really given me this much deeper appreciation for her practice.”

According to the gallery, Riley’s inspiration for the exhibition title came from a letter from Claude Monet to fellow French painter Eugène Boudin.

The gallery is also showing some of Riley’s preparatory drawings.

It will also run a drawing studio with public classes for the next year “inspired” by Riley, Ms Blanchflower said.