Andrea Bolley, Canadian Born 1949, Wrap Series #026, 1980 Paper Painting

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Andrea Bolley "Wrap Series #026" Paper Painting, Canada, 1980

A compelling example of Andrea Bolley’s early “Paper Paintings,” Wrap Series … Read more Andrea Bolley "Wrap Series #026" Paper Painting, Canada, 1980

A compelling example of Andrea Bolley’s early “Paper Paintings,” Wrap Series #026 (1980) exemplifies the artist’s materially driven approach to abstraction and her distinctive contribution to late 20th-century Canadian painting. Signed lower right Andrea Bolley 80 and inscribed lower left Wrap Series #026, the work belongs to one of Bolley’s most recognized and important early series.

Bolley, a Toronto-based abstract painter, is best known for works in which paper functions not simply as support but as structure. In her “Paper Paintings,” sheets are layered, folded, creased, and embedded into the composition, transforming the surface into something between a painting, a relief, and a constructed object. The present work is an excellent example of that approach, its cool palette of slate blue, silver-gray, and white built through overlapping planes, abraded passages, and subtly fractured geometry.

The influence of Color Field painting is evident in Bolley’s restrained tonal atmosphere and meditative use of color. Like Rothko, she employs muted fields to create emotional depth and contemplative stillness, though her language is more tactile and materially grounded. Rather than soft-edged chromatic veils, Bolley builds atmosphere through layered paper, surface tension, and physical depth—producing a composition that feels at once austere, atmospheric, and architectonic.

The result is a work that moves between painting and object, balancing formal restraint with a richly worked surface presence. Both meditative and materially assertive, Wrap Series #026 is a strong and highly characteristic example from Bolley’s most innovative period.
Andrea Bolley’s work is held in major Canadian public collections, including the CCCA Canadian Art Database, the Canada Council Art Bank, and the Art Gallery of Windsor.

Artwork: 31 in. W x 43 in. H
Framed: 39.5 in. W x 52 in. H

Presented floating between plexiglass panels within a polished chrome frame. See less