Minimalism in Photography

We live in turbulent times, which arouses a longing to pare down to the essentials in many people. The trend towards minimalism is reflected in the worlds of home living, environmental awareness, and mindfulness, to be sure, but it is also reflected in art and photography. The minimalist photographer’s eye directs the viewer’s gaze to the aesthetics of the ordinary, transforming them into something extraordinary, something inspiring. The resulting photographs always use clean lines, often arranged in geometric compositions. Minimalist artists such as Maria Svarbova, Natalie Christensen, Matthieu Venot, and Maarten Rots borrow their motifs from everyday life. They can be schematic depictions of topography, or purely two-dimensional, abstract compositions. Sometimes they are detailed, sometimes large-scale. The point is always reduction.