31. Chant 2

Chant 2 was one of the first of Riley’s paintings to exclude black. The contrasting relationship of the bands of red and blue, interrupted by white intervals, produces afterimages of violet and radiant yellow orange. The artist describes the Chant series as an investigation of this visual effect, inspired by Eugène Delacroix’s North African color studies. Like Delacroix, Riley maintains there are always three colors perceptually present in nature — the Chant series, she explains, “is all about this.”