“Therely Bare,” an exhibition of nonobjective art, opens Friday at the Association for Visual Arts. The show will feature the work of 16 artists from around the world, including the United States, France, Belgium, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
Working in a style sometimes called reductive, these artists share a subversive approach to the traditions of painting. The exhibit title is wordplay, an inversion of “barely there.” It also hints at the curatorial premises of the exhibition.
Although the physical presence of the work in the show is not in question, the conceptual motives behind the work are more difficult to determine. In this sense, the work is hiding in plain sight. “Therely Bare” challenges typical modes of viewing and raises questions about perception itself.
Curators Ron Buffington and John Tallman, both professors at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, organized this show specifically for AVA, but it will travel to Kent State University later this year.
A reception will be held Friday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The show continues through Feb. 15.
AVA, 30 Frazier Ave., is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday. Call 265-4282.