Minimalism is an art movement that began after World War II in Western art. It is often seen as a response to earlier styles like abstract expressionism and modernism. This movement influenced later art styles that either expanded on or thoughtfully examined minimalism's goals. Minimalism focused on making art simple, emphasizing the object itself and the viewer's experience with as little influence from the artist as possible. Important artists linked to minimalism include Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt, and Frank Stella.
In music, minimalism uses techniques such as repeating sounds and making slow, gradual changes, as seen in the works of La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Julius Eastman, and John Adams. The term "minimalism" is also sometimes used to describe the plays and books of Samuel Beckett, the films of Robert Bresson, the short stories of Raymond Carver, and the car designs of Colin Chapman. Recently, the word "minimalism" has come to describe anything that is simple or reduced to its most basic parts.
Visual arts and literalist art
Minimalism in visual art, sometimes called "minimal art," "literalist art," or "ABC Art," is an art movement that began in New York in the early 1960s. It developed as a response to a style of art called abstract expressionism. Artists who worked in painting and were connected to Minimalism include Nassos Daphnis, Frank Stella, Kenneth Noland, Al Held, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Ryman, and others. Artists who worked in sculpture include Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, David Smith, Anthony Caro, and others. In painting, Minimalism is often marked by the use of sharp, clear edges, straight lines, simple shapes, and a focus on flat, two-dimensional surfaces.
American Minimalist artists were influenced by earlier European art movements. At that time, New York was showing works by German Bauhaus artists, Russian Constructivists, and Dutch De Stijl artists. These groups created highly abstract art and inspired artists like Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, and Donald Judd to explore new artistic ideas. These artists wanted to create art that gave viewers an immediate, visual reaction without connecting to anything else. They removed personal or expressive elements to focus only on the visual parts of art.
Minimalism was partly a reaction against the emotional and personal style of Abstract Expressionism, which was popular in New York in the 1940s and 1950s. Many artists were unhappy with the spontaneous and instinctive nature of Action Painting and Abstract Expressionism. Minimalism argued that art should not refer to anything outside itself and should avoid any connections beyond the visual.
In 1964, Donald Judd's artwork was displayed at the Green Gallery in Manhattan, New York City. At the same time, Dan Flavin's first works using fluorescent lights were also shown there. Other important galleries in Manhattan, such as Leo Castelli Gallery and Pace Gallery, began featuring artists who focused on Minimalist ideas.
In sculpture, Minimalism is often shown through simple geometric shapes made from industrial materials like plastic, metal, aluminum, concrete, and fiberglass. These materials are usually left in their natural state or painted a single solid color.
In a broader sense, Minimalism as a visual approach can be linked to the geometric art of painters connected to the Bauhaus movement, as well as the works of artists like Kazimir Malevich, Piet Mondrian, and others associated with De Stijl and Russian Constructivism. It also appears in the sculptures of Constantin Brâncuși.
As a formal style, Minimalism has been used in the paintings of Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, and Josef Albers, as well as in the works of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Yayoi Kusama, and Giorgio Morandi. Yves Klein explored Minimalism through his monochrome paintings, creating them as early as 1949. His first private exhibition of these works was in 1950, and his first public display appeared in the book Yves: Peintures in November 1954.
Michael Fried referred to Minimalist artists as "literalists" and used the term as a criticism. He believed art should provide a meaningful experience through metaphors, symbols, and stylized forms. In his view, literalist art only becomes art when a viewer sees it. For example, a regular sculpture remains art even if it is not seen, but a sculpture by Donald Judd (as shown in a photo) is simply an object waiting for someone to notice it and recognize it as art.
Design, architecture, and spaces
The term minimalism describes a design and architecture trend where only the most necessary parts are used. Minimalist architects focus on using empty space well, choosing neutral colors, and removing extra decorations. This style highlights the feel, texture, weight, and density of materials. Minimalist architecture became popular in the late 1980s in London, England, and New York City. At that time, architects and fashion designers worked together in boutiques to create simple designs using white elements, cold lighting, and large spaces with few decorations.
The works of De Stijl artists are an important influence. De Stijl artists organized basic elements like lines and planes carefully to express ideas. In 1924, The Rietveld Schroder House was built for Truus Schröder-Schräder, a key example of early minimalism. This house shows slabs, beams, and posts that reflect De Stijl’s ideas about how form and function should work together. Some home designs labeled as "minimalistic" are not truly minimalistic because they use more space, expensive materials, and finishes.
Minimalist design has been greatly influenced by traditional Japanese design and architecture. Before Western minimalism and before World War II, minimalism was already practiced in East Asia as a way of life and philosophy. Some people say minimalism started as a reaction to the noise and confusion of city life. For example, in 1980s Japan, minimalist architecture became popular because of growing city populations and the need to manage crowded spaces. This style was seen as a way to calm the overwhelming presence of traffic, ads, and large buildings. The chaos in Japan was caused not only by urbanization and technology but also by the need to rebuild after World War II and natural disasters like earthquakes and fires. Minimalism was already part of Japanese culture, rooted in Zen philosophy, which values simplicity and nature. Some people connect the design movement to Japan’s spiritual beliefs and views of nature.
Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) used the phrase "Less is more" to describe his style. He arranged the essential parts of a building to create a look of extreme simplicity, making each element serve multiple purposes. For example, he designed floors that also acted as radiators or fireplaces that also housed bathrooms. Designer Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) focused on the idea of "Doing more with less," but his work centered on technology and engineering rather than appearance.
The goal of minimalist architecture is to remove all unnecessary parts and achieve simplicity. It is not completely without decoration, but every part, detail, and connection is reduced to a point where nothing else can be removed without harming the design.
Important factors in minimalist design include light, shape, material details, space, location, and the human experience. Minimalist architects consider not only the physical parts of a building but also how people, space, nature, and materials interact. They believe this helps reveal hidden qualities like natural light, sky, and air. They also create a connection between the building and its surroundings to choose the most important materials and build relationships between structures and their locations.
In minimalist architecture, design elements aim to show simplicity. Basic shapes, simple materials, and repeated structures create a sense of order and essential quality. The way natural light moves through a building reveals clean, simple spaces. In the late 19th century, the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain emphasized the value of being honest about the natural qualities of materials. Minimalist architects look closely at materials to find their hidden value in simple, everyday things. Minimalist architecture helps make spaces feel calm and organized. Three common rules architects follow when designing minimalist spaces are: the "in, one out" rule, organizing by zones, and the "90/90" rule.
The idea of simplicity appears in many cultures, especially in Japanese traditions linked to Zen Buddhist philosophy. Japanese architects use Zen ideas to shape their buildings. This style influenced Western societies, especially in America since the mid-19th century and later inspired minimalist architecture in the 20th century.
Zen ideas about simplicity show freedom and the true nature of life. Simplicity is not only about appearance but also about understanding the truth and hidden qualities of materials and objects. For example, the sand garden in Ryōan-ji temple shows simplicity through the careful placement of a few stones and a large empty space.
The Japanese concept of Ma refers to empty or open space. It removes unnecessary walls to create the most essential quality of space.
The Japanese idea of wabi-sabi values simple, plain objects. It finds beauty in quietness and shows the natural character of materials. For example, in the Japanese art of ikebana, flowers are arranged to let them express themselves naturally. Branches, leaves, and blossoms are removed to leave only the most important parts of the plant.
Japanese minimalist architect Tadao Ando uses traditional Japanese values and his own ideas about nature in his designs. He uses materials like concrete and natural wood, along with simple shapes, to create calm spaces filled with light. He also connects buildings with their surroundings and nature to create harmony. Ando’s work and the Japanese aesthetic principles he uses have influenced Japanese architecture.
Another Japanese minimalist architect, Kazuyo Sejima, works alone and with Ryue Nishizawa as SANAA. They create famous minimalist buildings. Their designs often use white colors, thin structures, and transparent materials to make unique buildings. Examples of their work include the New Museum in New York City (2010), a Small House in Tokyo (2000), and a House Surrounded by Plum Trees in Tokyo (2003).
In the Vitra Conference Pavilion in Weil am Rhein, Germany (1993), the design brings together the relationship between buildings, human movement, the site, and nature. This reflects a key idea in minimalism: creating a dialogue between the building and its location. The building uses simple shapes like circles and rectangles to contrast filled and empty spaces inside and outside. In the entrance area, the design highlights this balance.
Literature
Literary minimalism uses few words and focuses on simple descriptions. Writers in this style avoid using adverbs and let the context help readers understand the meaning. Readers are expected to actively imagine the story and make decisions based on indirect clues and suggestions, rather than following the writer's directions directly.
Austrian architect and theorist Adolf Loos wrote about minimalism in his work Ornament and Crime.
Early influences of literary minimalism include famous novelists Stephen Crane and Ernest Hemingway.
Some crime fiction from the 1940s, written by authors like James M. Cain and Jim Thompson, used a simple, straightforward writing style. This style is sometimes considered a form of minimalism.
Another form of literary minimalism developed in response to the metafiction trend of the 1960s and 1970s (writers such as John Barth, Robert Coover, and William H. Gass). These writers used little description and kept emotional distance from their subjects.
Writers known for their minimalist style, or who used it during certain periods of their careers, include: Raymond Carver, Ann Beattie, Bret Easton Ellis, Charles Bukowski, K. J. Stevens, Amy Hempel, Bobbie Ann Mason, Tobias Wolff, Grace Paley, Sandra Cisneros, Mary Robison, Frederick Barthelme, Richard Ford, Patrick Holland, Cormac McCarthy, David Leavitt, and Alicia Erian.
American poets such as William Carlos Williams, early Ezra Pound, Robert Creeley, Robert Grenier, Aram Saroyan, BpNichol, and Geof Huth are sometimes linked to minimalism. Aram Saroyan is known for his one-word poem "lighght," which was included in The American Literary Anthology and earned a $750 prize from the National Endowment for the Arts. This caused controversy among some conservative politicians, such as Jesse Helms. BpNichol, a Canadian poet, is famous for minimalist poems like "str," "em ty," and "groww." These poems were collected in an anthology titled The Alphabet Game*, edited by Darren Werschler-Henry and Lori Emerson. Geof Huth is known for creating minimalist poetry, including his concept of the "pwoermd," a poem made of only one word. Some minimalist poetry may overlap with visual poetry, especially when the poem’s meaning is enhanced by its visual design. The term "minimalism" is also connected to haiku, a short poetic form from Japan that has been adapted by English-language poets such as Nick Virgilio, Raymond Roseliep, and George Swede.
The Irish writer Samuel Beckett and the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse are known for their minimalist plays and prose.
Dimitris Lyacos’s With the People from the Bridge, which uses brief monologues and simple storytelling, is a modern example of minimalist playwriting.
In his novel The Easy Chain, Evan Dara includes a 60-page section inspired by the musical style of composer Steve Reich. This section uses repeated and evolving phrases to represent the main character’s state of agitation.
Music
The term "minimal music" was first used around 1970 by Michael Nyman, inspired by the idea of minimalism, which was originally used in visual arts. Specifically, Nyman introduced the term in a 1968 review in The Spectator to describe a ten-minute piano piece by the Danish composer Henning Christiansen, as well as other unnamed works performed by Charlotte Moorman and Nam June Paik at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
Earlier roots of minimal music can be traced to France. It is said that Yves Klein created his Monotone Symphony (officially titled The Monotone-Silence Symphony) between 1947 and 1949, though it was first performed in 1960. This piece included a single, long, continuous note lasting 20 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of silence.
Film and cinema
In film, minimalism is often linked to directors like Robert Bresson, Chantal Akerman, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and Yasujirō Ozu. Their movies usually tell simple stories with basic camera work and little music. Paul Schrader called this style of filmmaking "transcendental cinema." Today, a focus on minimalism can be found in film movements such as Dogme 95, mumblecore, and the Romanian New Wave. Directors like Abbas Kiarostami, Elia Suleiman, and Kelly Reichardt are also known for their minimalist approach.
The Minimalists—Joshua Fields Millburn, Ryan Nicodemus, and Matt D'Avella—directed and produced the film Minimalism: A Documentary, which explored the concept of minimal living in the modern world.
In other fields
A capsule wardrobe is a way to practice minimalism in clothing. It includes only a few basic items that do not go out of style and usually uses one or two main colors. These wardrobes are designed to be simple, easy to change, and useful in different situations. They can also be combined with other clothes for different seasons. The modern idea of a capsule wardrobe began in the 1970s and was created by Susie Faux, a London boutique owner. Later, in the 1980s, American designer Donna Karan made a famous collection of capsule workwear in 1985.
To explain global warming to people who are not scientists, British climate scientist Ed Hawkins created warming stripes in 2018. These graphics avoid using scientific terms to make them easier to understand. Hawkins said, "Our eyes can understand the stripes without needing to think about them."
Warming stripes look like color field paintings, which use only color to show meaning. These paintings remove all extra details. Artist Barnett Newman, who started color field art, said he wanted to create images that are clearly understood. Hawkins used this idea to help people understand climate change. One person said the warming stripes are "fit for the Museum of Modern Art or the Getty."
A tempestry is a type of tapestry that uses colored yarn to show temperature ranges. These tapestries show how global warming is happening in different places.
In a minimalist lifestyle, people try to use only the most important materials and only as much as they need. Many terms have come from this idea, such as minimalist home designs, skincare routines, styles, and accessories. These terms mean using only the most important products in each area of life. This helps people focus on what matters most, reduces waste, and saves time by avoiding unnecessary purchases.
A minimalist lifestyle allows people to enjoy simple things that are easy to find and do not require spending a lot of money. It also helps keep living spaces less cluttered.