Excessivism
Excessivism is a contemporary art movement introduced to the public in 2015 by the American artist and curator Kaloust Guedel, whose exhibition Excessivist Initiative launched it. Reviewing that show, the critic and curator Shana Nys Dambrot titled her Huffington Post essay 'Excessivism: Irony, Imbalance and a New Rococo', a phrase that captured the movement's character: art that embraces surplus, overstatement and imbalance rather than restraint, often with an ironic edge toward the consumer abundance it reflects. The movement's promoters trace its early adopters back to the late twentieth century. It offers a critical mirror of excess by performing it - lavish surfaces, overscaled gestures and deliberate overstatement.
Defining characteristics
- Deliberate overabundance: overscaled, layered and overworked surfaces
- Imbalance and exaggeration used in place of classical restraint
- Lavish, Rococo-like decoration and material opulence
- Ironic stance toward consumer surplus and economic imbalance
- Bold, saturated color and maximal visual density
Key figures
- Kaloust Guedel — Artist and curator who proclaimed the movement and staged its 2015 debut
Example works
- Excessivist Initiative (exhibition) — Kaloust Guedel (2015)
Sources
- Excessivism - WikiArt institution