Minimalism

A movement of the 1960s, mainly in New York, that stripped art down to its simplest elements: geometric shapes, repetition, industrial materials and no sign of the artist's hand or feelings. Donald Judd stacked identical metal boxes on the wall, Carl Andre laid bricks and metal plates on the floor, Dan Flavin made works of fluorescent tubes, and Sol LeWitt wrote instructions for wall drawings. In painting, Frank Stella's black stripes, Agnes Martin's pale pencilled grids, Ellsworth Kelly's single shapes of pure colour, Robert Ryman's white paintings and Brice Marden's monochrome panels pursued the same quiet reduction. As Stella said, 'What you see is what you see.'

How to tell it apart: simple geometric forms, often repeated, smooth surfaces and no expression; Color Field painting is warmer and more atmospheric.

152 works in the quiz. Play a round on Minimalism.

Artists

Richard Serra · Donald Judd · Frank Stella · Carl Andre · Sol LeWitt · Agnes Martin · Ellsworth Kelly · Bruce Nauman · Jo Baer · Anne Truitt · Robert Mangold · Brice Marden

Best-known works

“Fulcrum” — Richard Serra, 1987
“Tall Irregular Progression. A les Víctimes del terrorisme” — Sol LeWitt
“Philibert and Margaret” — Richard Serra, 1985
“7” — Richard Serra, 2011
“Shift” — Richard Serra, 1970
“54 Columns” — Sol LeWitt, 1999
“Terminal” — Richard Serra, 1977
“Viewpoint” — Richard Serra, 2006
“Spin out, for Robert Smithson” — Richard Serra, 1972
“El mur” — Richard Serra, 1984
“Intersection” — Richard Serra, 1992
“Lemgo Vectors” — Richard Serra, 1997
“Tilted Spheres” — Richard Serra, 2006
“Berlin Junction” — Richard Serra, 1987
“Te Tuhirangi Contour” — Richard Serra, 1999
“Berlin Block for Charlie Chaplin” — Richard Serra, 1978
“Dialogue with Johann Conrad Schlaun” — Richard Serra, 1997
“Bramme für das Ruhrgebiet” — Richard Serra, 1998
“T.W.U. (Transport Workers Union)” — Richard Serra, 1979
“Untitled Sculpture” — Richard Serra, 1978
“Peekskill” — Frank Stella, 1995
“Bear Mountain” — Frank Stella, 1995
“Newburgh” — Frank Stella, 1995
“Garrison” — Frank Stella, 1995
“Six-sided tower” — Sol LeWitt, 1993
“Homage to Mrs Josine de Bruyn Kops” — Sol LeWitt, 1987
“Totem” — Ellsworth Kelly, 1987
“The Hours of the Day” — Richard Serra, 1990
“Diamond Shaped Room with Yellow Light” — Bruce Nauman, 1986
“Truncated Pyramid Room” — Bruce Nauman, 1982