Elongated Triangles 5
- Artist: Bridget Riley
- Date: 1971
- Medium: Screenprint on paper
- Dimensions: image: 965 x 279 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Elongated Triangles 5” by Bridget Riley. Created in 1971, it’s a screenprint on paper that measures roughly 965 × 279 mm, so you can see how tightly packed those geometric shapes are. Riley, a key figure in British Op Art, uses bright, flat colours to build a series of elongated triangles that play with perception. As you look, the lines seem to wobble or vibrate, even though the paper is flat – a hallmark of her work that invites you to move around the piece to catch the shifting effect.
The print was presented by the Institute of Contemporary Prints in 1975, so it’s part of the modern and contemporary British collection. Although the description is sparse, the title itself hints at the focus: a sequence of triangles stretched along a line, each slightly different in hue and size. The geometry and colour create a rhythmic pattern that feels both abstract and almost musical. Riley’s technique—using screenprinting to layer colours with precision—makes the whole composition feel like a study in optical illusion. Watching the triangles pulse under your gaze is a great reminder of how colour and shape can create motion without any moving parts.
See it in person
Elongated Triangles 5 is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
