Maximalism and More

Maximalism is an unapologetic grandiose collection of colors, patterns, and art centered around the joys of its creator. Its attitude is ratified in the ‘more is more’ opposition to minimalism.

Maximalism’s formal aesthetic emergence occurred in the late 20th century as a response to minimalism. Its aim and often success pull viewers into a rich, complex, layered, and usually bright experience. Rich color palettes, patterns, repetition, gilded accents, layers, and grandiosity at large scale. It’s important to note the emphasis placed on personal satisfaction and unapologetic self-expression.
The origins of maximalism stretch much farther back than its simple opposition definition. Its nascent beginnings belong to Germany’s Wunderkammer meaning “cabinet of curiosities” or “room of wonder”. These small rooms were filled with collections of exotic specimens and art holding the collector’s interest and were intended to provoke awe and natural conversation among visitors. David Evans notes “..all collecting was marked by curiosity, shading into credulity, and by some sort of universal underlying design.”

On a decisively larger scale, maximalism steps into the 17th and 18th centuries. Europe was Baroque. Extravagant, complex highly decorated interiors. Moving away from natural work specimens and including more art, patterns, and intentional visual density. Baroque’s emergence and encouragement were in response to the austerity of protestant appearances—an interesting reemerging pattern. This age connects with a main thread of maximalism as its highly decorated, often embellished, interiors.

Entrance into the Victorian era came with an increased opulence from only gilded details. Later 19th-century evolution saw the inclusion of colors and patterns in addition to art and objects with priority to items that expressed one’s identity. Emphasis on color most likely came about due to the discovery and continual commercial advancements in synthetic dyes, increasing variety, intensity, and availability. Progressing into the 20th century and inevitable creative limitations from war rationing, facilitated abstract expressionism and eventually minimalism.
Jackson Pollock’s style incorporating bright colors, emotion, energetic explorations, movement, and self-expression positions him as a pioneering precursor to maximalism.
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist primarily working in sculpture, installation, and painting. Born in 1929 and began her art career in the 1950s. Her trademark orderly and extravagant dot theme plays across both minimalism and maximalism. Infinity mirrored rooms are specifically immersive and excessive, maximalism’s signatures—and available to visit at permanent installations in select international locations.

Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace’s distinct vivid colors, bold prints, and grand embellishments were a refreshing contrast to tastes that primarily used muted colors and simplicity—his specific flavor and expense in design call back to the grandiose virtues of maximalism.

Tony Duquette began holding a wild set of skills designing movie sets, costumes, jewelry and select individuals’ home interiors in Los Angeles beginning in 1935. Throughout a long career and multiple personally curated interiors. His lasting maximalism touch is still alive through Tony Duquette Studios’ interior design firm. As well as a survey of his life in the book More is More: Tony Duquette.

Maximalism is frequently identifiable in interior decoration with notable successes in fashion. Johnson Hartig is a contemporary fashion designer, and current CEO of Libertine, who recently opened his home for view and exemplifies both audaciously. In the words of Kelsey McKinnon, and echoes of definition, “[he] has fashioned… his home around a trove of art and objects amassed over a lifetime of travel and treasure hunting.”

Maximalism is a movement that thrives on excess, abundance, and extravagance. It’s important to note that maximalism isn’t just a collection of stuff. It’s an aesthetic. As such the collection and display of items have a theme, a collective feeling, and a rhythm. Reddit user spaghettiryhmes succinctly points out, “variety of colors and patterns, create the visual effect of having a lot of stuff going on, without necessarily having a lot of objects.” This emphasis on visual effects coupled with specific themes has influenced recent trends and micro trends including maximalist minimalism, cottagecore, academia, grandmillenial, and dopamine decor.