Minimum after Minimalism looks at the art movements recent developments

It emerged out of the 1960s New York art scene as a reaction to the frantic painterly forms of Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock, and now Minimalism is making a comeback.

A new exhibition, aptly titled Minimum after Minimalism, has opened at the Intervention Gallery in the chapel at Kensal Green Cemetery in Harrow Road.

The show brings together works by eight artists who explore ideas through different media – sculpture, performance, video and painting – but maintain an aesthetic which is instantly recognisable as minimal.

“The artistic movement minimalism is making a comeback in a very strong way, although, it has evolved and merged with conceptualism and other movements. It is not just as it was in the 1960s anymore”, explains Lorenzo Belenguer, a Kensal Rise base artist who curated the show.

“I wanted to change people’s perceptions of minimalism.”

This fusion of movements is reflected in the selection of works on show.

Cedric Christie’s work, Dance, is an elegant sculpture made up of three interlocking metal ribbons in black, purple and pink.

Based on the movement of a ballerina, the piece beautifully evokes the grace and poise of a dancer. While it’s strong and vibrant colours challenges the conception that minimalist art must be white, or beige.

Whereas other works in the show more typically encapsulate minimalism.

The video installation, Fan, by Jeremy Evans, is a close up shot of an electric fan spinning.

“It is a very ordinary thing, but once you see it on a big screen it becomes magnetic. You cannot stop looking at it”, explains Lorenzo.

“That is the idea of minimalism; it allows you to appreciate things that you don’t always notice”

As well as curating the exhibition, Lorenzo also has a work on show.

His photo, entitled Group of People, was inspired by a photograph he took in Willesden library, overlooking its foyer, of a group of people walking in.

He has then recreated this scene by painting eight metal nails which he has placed on a stark canvas – stripping down the image to the bare essentials of the four figures

“I am fascinated by the way people place themselves in a social event”, Lorenzo says.

“If you see a group of people you can figure out who is outside and who is the leader from their physical chemistry. The way we physically position ourselves gives away so much information about the dynamic of the group.”

It is this ability to evoke life’s quirks and subtleties in the simplest of forms that marks Minimalism out as a powerful artistic force.

Minimum after Minimalism runs at the Intervention Gallery until May 22. It is open on Saturdays and Sundays from noon until 4pm.