Critical Analysis

The Neural Gap: Visual Ambiguity & Indeterminacy

Rubin's vase, Richter's squeegee: what bistable images reveal about the brain's refusal to leave a picture undecided.

By sprout09

20 August 2026

The neural gap is the interval in which the brain has not yet decided what it sees. Most perception hurries across that gap. Art is the practice of staying inside it.

Figure / ground — Abstract Painting 780-1 — after Gerhard Richter, 1992

Unlock this issue to read the full piece.

One purchase unlocks every online section in this issue.

Unlock the issue Back to the issue