Terry Winters review – flashes of magic in patterns science has yet to explain

A review of Terry Winters' exhibition 'Along the River' at Modern Art, London, explores how his mathematically named new works use colored dots and rippling patterns to evoke the secret sequences underpinning the physical world. The review draws on physicist Paul Dirac's idea that beauty in formulas may indicate truth, even when unproven. Since the 1970s, Winters has rebuilt bridges between art and science, taking inspiration from botany, engineering, computer modeling, and cybernetics. His early paintings evoked sprouting pods and tangled roots. The exhibition runs through June 2026.