Meaning of zombie formalism | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A form of abstract expressionism that gained popularity in the 2010s, seen as overly commercial and devoid of artistic innovation.
   derogatory, uncountable
2. Alternative letter-case form of zombie formalism
   alt-of, uncountable

Examples

“One thing I’m hearing these days, loud and clear, is the hum of an art style that I like to call Zombie Formalism. “Formalism” because this art involves a straightforward, reductive, essentialist method of making a painting (yes, I admit it, I’m hung up on painting), and “Zombie” because it brings back to life the discarded aesthetics of Clement Greenberg, the man who championed Jackson Pollock, Morris Louis, and Frank Stella’s “black paintings,” among other things.”

“In his latest solo, Matt Connors strides right into the debate surrounding “zombie formalism,” or the reflexive rehashing of past modes of abstract painting.”

“Most Zombie Formalism arrives in a vertical format, tailor-made for instant digital distribution and viewing via jpeg on portable devices. It looks pretty much the same in person as it does on iPhone, iPad, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram.”

“Both paintings juxtapose their respective bits of text against the kind of paint-splattered background that has variously been called “crapstraction,” “zombie formalism” and, as Kass prefers, “citational modernism” — aesthetically unchallenging work that has saturated the art market in recent years.”

“Meanwhile, since the American artist and critic Walter Robinson coined the phrase “Zombie Formalism” for its resurrection in his infamous article “Flipping and the Rise of Zombie Formalism” for the online magazine Artspace in 2014, some members of the established international art world outside the globalized art market continue to bash abstraction fiercely.”

“With the softening of the market, galleries have brought younger (and often better) artists to exhibit, and the recent vogue for “zombie formalism” – the painter/critic Walter Robinson’s phrase for braindead abstraction by affable bros – has been superseded by a more thoughtful, less cash-and-carry sort of art.”

“Ms. Imhof’s main efforts are shiny acrylic monochromes (black, white or turquoise) on aluminum with impulsive flurries of scratches — variants of zombie formalism that imply vandalism.”

“So-called zombie formalism—rehashed abstract expressionism optimized for Instagram shareability—became a fad.”

CEFR level