In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985

In Edna Andrade’s Cool Wave, the interaction of seemingly simple components—shades of blue with thin white lines—creates the illusion of shifting, undulating movement across the painting’s surface. Andrade had begun making abstract works over a decade earlier, at a time when many artists were stylistically grouped together under the category of Op art (short for optical art), a painting style known for producing ocular sensations such as vibration or afterimages. She focused her attention on how the brain processes visual information and was captivated by “how little it takes to upset the eye,” but her interest went beyond the retinal. Influenced by the geometries and textures of quiltmaking, basketry, weaving, and mosaic-tile patterns, she wanted to explore how seemingly simple combinations of color, shape, and line might create, and upset, perceptions of visual stasis.