Casualism (art)

Casualism is a 21st-century trend in art which uses color, composition, and balance to produce works with an unusual rather than obviously visually appealing appearance.[1]

An example of casualist painting: Amy Feldman, Goofy Gloom, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 79 x 79 inches

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 reflects wider insights about culture and society[1][2][3][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]

Tatiana Berg, Joe Bradley, Sharon Butler, Amy Feldman, Keltie Ferris,[11] Beth Letain, Lauren Luloff, Chris Martin, Rebecca Morris, David Ostrowski, Cordy Ryman, 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[22]" 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][23][24] The older artists whose work is considered Provisional include Raoul De Keyser, Michael Krebber, Mary Heilmann, Albert Oehlen, Kimber Smith, Richard Tuttle and Christopher Wool.[3]

References

  1. Butler, Sharon L. (June 3, 2011). "ABSTRACT PAINTING: The New Casualists". brooklynrail.org. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  2. Negroni, Juan Alberto (September 27, 2014). "Casualist Painting: Self-gratification in abstract painting" (PDF). curatingcontemporary.com. Curating Contemporary. Retrieved Jan 17, 2021.
  3. Micchelli, Thomas (July 6, 2013). "Painting on the Cusp: Abstraction of the 1980s". hyperallergic.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-07. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  4. Bunker, John (December 7, 2018). "Casualism and its Discontents". instantloveland.com. Instantloveland. Retrieved Jan 17, 2021.
  5. Hurst, Howard (December 17, 2014). "Who Has the Cure for "Zombie Formalism"?". hyperallergic.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  6. Maine, Stephen (February 18, 2011). "The Incipient Image". lesleyheller.com. Retrieved Jan 17, 2021.
  7. Micchelli, Thomas (June 29, 2013). "The New Casualists Strike Again". hyperallergic.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  8. Johnson, Elizabeth (Dec 26, 2013). "Sharon Butler's New Casualist paintings at The Painting Center in New York". artblog.org. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  9. Fraser, Pamela; Rothman, Roger (Apr 6, 2017). Beyond Critique: Contemporary Art in Theory, Practice, and Instruction. USA: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 232. ISBN 978-1501323461.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. 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. S2CID 213029526. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  11. Bickel, Megan (December 2, 2018). "Keltie Ferris: *O*P*E*N* at the Speed Art Museum: Casualist Painting / Not-cAsual SetTing". Aequi.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  12. Antonini, Marco; Ho, Christopher (2014). "NURTUREart". The Golden Age: Perspectives on Abstract Painting Today (PDF). CKH. ISBN 978-0980198546.
  13. Antonini, Marco (Jan 15, 2016). "Revolution in (Re)Form: More Thoughts on Abstraction Today". temporaryartreview.com. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  14. Boyd, Robert (March 2, 2014). "Questions About Casualism". thegreatgodpanisdead.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-16. Retrieved Nov 1, 2020.
  15. Geers, David (February 20, 2015). "Formal Affairs". Frieze.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  16. Saft, Carol (Feb 13, 2020). "Monica King Contemporary panel with Jason Stopa, curator". vimeo.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  17. Maliszewski, Lynn (Nov 5, 2014). "The Perks of being an outsider: Fred Gutzeit Signatures". brooklynrail.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  18. "Nashville's Wedgewood-Houston Neighborhood Keeps it Casual". burnaway.org. 20 October 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  19. Butler, Sharon (February 18, 2014). "The Casualist Tendency". twocoatsofpainting.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-19. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  20. Butler, Sharon (June 5, 2011). "The New Casualists". twocoatsofpaint.com. Two Coats of Paint. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  21. Rubinstein, Raphael (May 4, 2011). ""Provisional Painting" at Modern Art". contemporaryartdaily.com. Contemporary Art Daily. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  22. Rubinstein, Raphael (January 12, 2023). The Turn to Provisionality in Contemporary Art: Negative Work (Aesthetics and Contemporary Art). Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781350243712.
  23. Rubinstein, Raphael (May 1, 2009). "Provisional Painting". artnews.com. ArtNews. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  24. Rubinstein, Raphael (February 3, 2012). "Provisional Painting Part 2: The Rest Lightly on the Earth". artnews.com. Art in America. Retrieved May 19, 2020.


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