Ornamentalism

Both an exhibition and a publication, Ornamentalism presents four essays and a series of beautifully presented colour images of contemporary works. The title, Ornamentalism, does not herald a movement - an "-ism" - but a tendency that intersects with other currents in contemporary art. A feature of these currents is the pivotal but complex relationship to Modernism. In the case of the work exhibited in Ornamentalism, the art draws from elements and concerns that corrode late...
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Both an exhibition and a publication, Ornamentalism presents four essays and a series of beautifully presented colour images of contemporary works. The title, Ornamentalism, does not herald a movement - an "-ism" - but a tendency that intersects with other currents in contemporary art. A feature of these currents is the pivotal but complex relationship to Modernism. In the case of the work exhibited in Ornamentalism, the art draws from elements and concerns that corrode late Modernism's quest for self-referential purity. Hence, there is a kind of push and pull effect in regard to avant-garde Modernism. Three key considerations have informed this exhibition-project. First, the artists chosen have consistently explored the theme of ornament in their practice. Second, the issue of ornament is presented as a matter of significance in both contemporary art and in art history. So an attempt has been made to draw out this dual significance of ornament without forcing a contrived synthesis between the works in the exhibition and the essays in the catalogue. Consequently, the essays are largely devoted to exploring the art-historical and theoretical implications of the ornament debate and its ramifications today. The third consideration is that the work exhibited displays a range of approaches to ornament, even if they can sometimes be contradictory.