The Proportion of White Space: How Much Empty Space Above the Table is Enough?

A 2400mm long side cabinet countertop, with an arrangement placed only on the left third—a sculpture and two books—the remaining two-thirds completely empty. This proportion is deliberate: the area occupied by objects does not exceed one-third of the countertop, and the empty space is the condition for the objects to be seen. A proportionally sized artwork is hung on the wall at the corresponding position, its bottom edge 250mm from the countertop. The image also presents another approach as a comparison: the same countertop evenly filled with a dozen small items, resulting in each item disappearing. Avoid: objects evenly distributed across the entire countertop, less than two-thirds empty space, artwork on the wall not aligned with the countertop arrangement, omitting the incorrect comparison.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一張長 2400mm 的邊櫃檯面,上面只在左側三分之一處擺放一組陳設——一件雕塑與兩本書——其餘三分之二完全空著。這個比例是刻意的:物件佔據的面積不超過檯面的三分之一,空白才是讓物件被看見的條件。牆上對應的位置掛一件尺寸相稱的作品,底邊距離檯面 250mm。畫面同時呈現另一種做法作為對照:同樣的檯面均勻擺滿十幾件小物,結果每一件都消失了。避免:物件平均分布在整個檯面、留白不足三分之二、牆上的作品與檯面陳設不對位、省略錯誤對照。