Op Art legend Bridget Riley has unveiled a permanent mural at St Mary’s Hospital in London. The piece joins two others works commissioned to the artist over twenty years ago, making the hospital a unique permanent showcase of the artist’s work.
The three pieces “aim to lift the spirits and to remind one of life outside the hospital, while in no way interfering with the essential activities of the hospital as it goes about its business,” said the artist.
“They also have my work in a unit called the Trauma Unit. This means a lot to me because the doctors and nurses want it and it reminds patients that theirs is a transitory state, that they are there to recover and re-join life—that life goes on, and life is outside—and they feel reassured.”
Bridget Riley made this mural at St Mary’s Hospital in London 20 years ago. Photo by Peter Cook.