In art, as in sex, size doesn’t matter. There are huge works of minimalism as well as mini-masterpieces of maximalism. Instead of containing the least number of elements, maximalism encompasses the most in a single work. If you are tired of being told that less is more and small is beautiful, try to letting it all hang out and rip up the rules!
Maximalism is essentially the total opposite of minimalism, one of its goals being to encompass as many different varieties of element and genre as possible (or desirable) in a single work. But be careful – merely stuffing as many elements into a work as you can does not necessarily qualify it as maximalist, it could just be a chaotic mess. Perhaps the biggest pitfall in creating maximalist art is knowing when to stop. A sense of harmony should prevail and the viewer should never be allowed to get lost in a jumble of jarring ideas.
In this feature article, we invited 10 maximalist maestros to enlighten us on what it is that they enjoy about it, and the difficulties and satisfactions that it presents them with.
Featuring:
Atelier Olschinshky | Beeple | Gosia Stolinska | Hattie Stewart | Junu Ahn | Onrepeat Studio | The Royal Studio | Thomas Burden | Wayne Edson Bryan | Will Miller
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