''Yasuaki Onishi: reverse of volume RG''

You can say that Japanese artist Yasuaki Onishi focuses on the negative — negative space, that is. His new installation, “Yasuaki Onishi: reverse of volume RG,” commissioned by the Rice University Art Gallery, is the latest addition to his reverse of volume series.

Onishi first began this series by draping plastic sheets over chairs or suitcases, suspending the sheets by thousands of strings covered in black glue, and then removing the objects, leaving a void in the shapes of the objects. For ”reverse of volume RG,” he has moved on to a much larger scale, creating a gallery-size work by draping plastic over stacked cardboard boxes. He views his work as the process of reversing sculptures and creating a negative space or void.

Onishi uses black and white materials and simple lighting inside the white-walled gallery here. He had previously used fluorescent paint in conjunction with black lights in dark rooms, but has since shifted his focus to something more simplistic and natural. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays, and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. (11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays summer hours apply after May 7.) Through June 24. 6100 Main.

Tuesdays-Sundays; Mondays-Fridays. Starts: April 13. Continues through June 24, 2012