Anne Sherwood Pundyk explores neuroscience of art through personal trauma and Eric Kandel's research

Through her sister's recovery from a stroke and the research of Eric R. Kandel, artist Anne Sherwood Pundyk delves into the intersection of neuroscience and artistic perception. She draws on Jill Bolte Taylor's 2006 memoir, 'My Stroke of Insight,' which recounts her experience of a stroke in 1996, highlighting the contrast between her left-brain impairment and right-brain awareness. Kandel, a Nobel laureate, connects the evolution of art since the 1850s in Vienna to neurological functions, referencing notable artists such as Turner, Monet, Pollock, and Rothko. The 2016 exhibition 'Tight Rope Walk' at London's White Cube showcased over forty artists exploring the influence of abstraction on figuration, both highlighting brain plasticity, paralleling Pundyk's own shift towards abstraction during her sister's healing journey.