Style & movement
Minimalism
An approach characterised by reduction, repetition, simple geometric forms and restrained use of colour or material.
- Category
- Style & movement
- Index letter
- M
Understanding the term
Historical Minimalism is associated especially with 1960s objects, serial structures and industrial materials. Scale, repetition and the work's relationship to space and viewer are central. This is more specific than the everyday use of 'minimalist' for simple interiors.
When Minimalism is used as a style label, it points to a family of formal qualities and ideas rather than a fixed recipe. Periods and movements overlap, and a single work may draw on several styles.
The label becomes more precise when considered alongside date, composition, colour, materials and historical context. A style can inspire work long after its original period, so appearance alone does not date an object.
Related entries
Continue through the glossary with terms from the same field.