Who needs hallucinogens when there are Bridget Riley paintings to fill your field of vision?   I’m dizzy, my head is swimming, and vivid spots and rays are dancing so furiously in my eyes that it’s like I’m looking through a ghost of a kaleidoscope, minutes after having departed Riley’s survey at Sprüth Magers. Spanning 1960 to 2018, “Painting Now,” the British painter’s first Los Angeles show in 50 years, encompasses 23 paintings from several bodies of work. Her art begins to work its magic the moment you enter the first room and approach any one of her “Memories of Horizon” paintings, where stratified bands of color vibrate so vigorously that at first, you can hardly stand to gaze. It’s easy to dismiss Op Art as a one-trick-pony of a movement, but this relatively small sampling of its grande dame’s output showcases an expansive variety of illusions and evocations. Stick with each series; and if you don’t get sick, you may be treated to a plethora of ocular sensations that hardly seem possible as triggered by painting. Evoking an icy landscape of islands or trees, the movement of triangles in Quiver 3 (2014) seems quiet, even relaxing, compared with the frantic zigzags of such paintings as Divertimento (2016, pictured above). Upstairs, Pink Landscape (1960) betokens the Pointillist influences of Riley’s new “Measure for Measure” disc paintings. Beyond mere dazzle, Riley’s paintings are thought-provoking with regard to perception and the power of images. Like occult totems, paintings can viscerally affect viewers, tendering seemingly mystical experiences. In Black to White Discs (1962), dozens of monochromatic dots turn into solar eclipses that reach totality simultaneously before your eyes.

Sprüth Magers Los Angeles
5900 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Show runs through Jan. 26