Casualism (art)
Casualism is a 21st century trend in art where the work reassesses conventionally accepted elements of art like color, composition, and balance to have unexpected outcomes rather than handsome results.[1]
The term Casualism was coined in a 2011 essay which defined a new type of postminimalist painting that features a self-amused, anti-heroic style with an interest in off-kilter composition and impermanence.[1] These artists are interested in a studied, passive-aggressive irresoluteness that reflect wider insights about culture and society[1][2][3] Though the work may feel experimental and resist finality, it is still accomplished.[4][5][6]
Many artists responded positively to the essay and embraced the notion of Casualism,[7][8][9][10][11] while others rejected the term, suggesting it whiffed of 'labelism' and 'crypto-institutionalism.[12][13][14] The Casualist tendency continues to inform much work and conversation around American abstract painting.[15][16][17][18]
Sharon Butler, Tatiana Berg, Joe Bradley, Amy Feldman, Keltie Ferris,[11] Beth Letain, Lauren Luloff, Chris Martin, Rebecca Morris, David Ostrowski, Cordy Ryman, Jason Stopa, Patricia Treib, Michael Voss, and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung are painters who work in a Casualist mode.[19][20][21]
In addition to Casualist, the term "Provisional" has been used to describe paintings that might appear unfinished or incomplete; work that is intentionally awkward, physically fragile and unstable, that reject the display of conventional skills, or that discover beauty in unassuming materials.[15] However, Provisional painters, unlike the younger Casualists, suggest a kind of exhaustion, entertaining the impossibility of painting.[21][22][23] The older artists whose work is considered Provisional include Raoul De Keyser, Michael Krebber, Mary Heilmann, Kimber Smith, Richard Tuttle and Christopher Wool.[3]
Related subjects
References
- Butler, Sharon L. (June 3, 2011). "ABSTRACT PAINTING: The New Casualists". brooklynrail.org. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- Negroni, Juan Alberto (September 27, 2014). "Casualist Painting: Self-gratification in abstract painting" (PDF). curatingcontemporary.com. Curating Contemporary. Retrieved Jan 17, 2021.
- Micchelli, Thomas (July 6, 2013). "Painting on the Cusp: Abstraction of the 1980s". hyperallergic.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- Bunker, John (December 7, 2018). "Casualism and its Discontents". instantloveland.com. Instantloveland. Retrieved Jan 17, 2021.
- Hurst, Howard (December 17, 2014). "Who Has the Cure for "Zombie Formalism"?". hyperallergic.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- Maine, Stephen (February 18, 2011). "The Incipient Image". lesleyheller.com. Retrieved Jan 17, 2021.
- Micchelli, Thomas (June 29, 2013). "The New Casualists Strike Again". hyperallergic.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- Johnson, Elizabeth (Dec 26, 2013). "Sharon Butler's New Casualist paintings at The Painting Center in New York". artblog.org. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- Fraser, Pamela; Rothman, Roger (Apr 6, 2017). Beyond Critique: Contemporary Art in Theory, Practice, and Instruction. USA: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 232. ISBN 978-1501323461.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
- Westgeest, Helen (Sep 2019). "Looking at Painting as Watching Slow Video Art: An Intermedial Experience of Disruption in the Work of Corinne Wasmuht". ASAP/Journal. Johns Hopkins University Press. 4 (3): 556–69. doi:10.1353/asa.2019.0039. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- Bickel, Megan (December 2, 2018). "Keltie Ferris: *O*P*E*N* at the Speed Art Museum: Casualist Painting / Not-cAsual SetTing". Aequi.com. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
- Antonini, Marco; Ho, Christopher (2014). "NURTUREart". The Golden Age: Perspectives on Abstract Painting Today (PDF). CKH. ISBN 978-0980198546.
- Antonini, Marco (Jan 15, 2016). "Revolution in (Re)Form: More Thoughts on Abstraction Today". temporaryartreview.com. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
- Boyd, Robert (March 2, 2014). "Questions About Casualism". thegreatgodpanisdead.com. Retrieved Nov 1, 2020.
- Geers, David (February 20, 2015). "Formal Affairs". Frieze.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- Saft, Carol (Feb 13, 2020). "Monica King Contemporary panel with Jason Stopa, curator". vimeo.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- Maliszewski, Lynn (Nov 5, 2014). "The Perks of being an outsider: Fred Gutzeit Signatures". brooklynrail.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- "Nashville's Wedgewood-Houston Neighborhood Keeps it Casual". burnaway.org. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- Butler, Sharon (February 18, 2014). "The Casualist Tendency". twocoatsofpainting.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
- Butler, Sharon (June 5, 2011). "The New Casualists". twocoatsofpaint.com. Two Coats of Paint. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- Rubinstein, Raphael (May 4, 2011). ""Provisional Painting" at Modern Art". contemporaryartdaily.com. Contemporary Art Daily. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
- Rubinstein, Raphael (May 1, 2009). "Provisional Painting". artnews.com. ArtNews. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- Rubinstein, Raphael (February 3, 2012). "Provisional Painting Part 2: The Rest Lightly on the Earth". artnews.com. Art in America. Retrieved May 19, 2020.