Exploring urban ‘nonspace’

“Terrain Vague” (oil on canvas), by David Barnes, in his show of the same name at Atelier Newport (R.I.), Sept. 25-Oct. 30.

Mr. Barnes explains:

"Spanish architect Ignasi de Solà-Morales refers to Terrain Vague as the ‘in- between’ spaces on the urban outskirts: parking lots, empty plots, abandoned buildings and all the uninhabited sprawl beyond the city limits that makes up a sort of urban nonspace. I chose this title for my show because much of my work deals with this type of space. Not only physical terrain vague, but also psychological and spiritual places of uncertainty.

“As de Solà-Morales states, there is a ‘relationship between the absence of use, of activity, and the sense of freedom, void as absence, and yet also as promise, as encounter, as the space of the possible yet also as promise, as encounter….’’