The exhibition focuses on the act of mark-making in empty space, and features the work of eight artists who utilize a linear format to explore issues of spatial arrangement. The concept draws from philosophical ideas about spatial voids, such as horror vacui and the Japanese notion of ma. Ma refers to the use of empty space as an integral compositional element most often utilized in architectural planning. Horror vacui – the fear of empty space – is exemplified by the work of folk artists, who obsessively fill entire pictorial surfaces with content, and by medieval illuminated manuscripts covered with intricate, linear decoration.

Each work featured in the exhibition explores the ways in which line and color behave on a minimalist picture plane. The presentation of a wide range of artistic interpretations and media stemming from this central concept, including lines of stitched thread, pastel on paper, painting and mixed media, provide the viewer with a unique, intangible experience, wrought from the interplay between empty space and line and color.

The show includes work by Abdolreza Aminlari, Deborah Brown, Janice Caswell, Beth Gilfilen, Jonathan Hammer, Nancy Storrow, Deborah Ugoretz and Rose Umerlik. The exhibition will be on view from March 29-June 19, 2011.