by Peniche

Modern Minimalism Manifesto

What is Modern Minimalism?

Modern Minimalism is the painting movement created by the Colombian painter Peniche (Mihály Flandorffer Peniche) since 2006. It uses few elements to maximize a work: one base color, a limited palette — primary (red, yellow, blue) or secondary (orange, purple, green), always with black and white — and numbers, symbols and constellations in the foreground. Not to be confused with the interior-design style of the same name.

Empowering the art world… Modern Minimalism arises from our need to create new things. Every day it becomes harder to compete with technology in certain fields — computer animation, the resolution of a digital camera, the quality of a print — so we need new tools to maximize human potential.

This manifesto sets out the premises for making art within the artistic current of Modern Minimalism.

Modern Minimalism is the use of few elements to maximize a work.

The idea is to create the greatest possible number of parallel realities of a single event or object, engaging not one sense but as many as possible: the viewer is drawn in by its simplicity, yet can keep going deeper into its interpretation.

Tools

The artist may use the following tools:

  1. 01

    Numbers

    Through numerology, the artist uses numbers, or combinations of them, within the work: measurements, distances, sizes and quantities all carry numerological meaning. Although a work contains many numbers, these must consciously be placed in the foreground.

  2. 02

    Symbols

    Any symbol from any culture, religion or place may be used if it helps to understand or complement the result.

  3. 03

    Astrology

    The stars and constellations of the zodiac may be used in any form.

  4. 04

    Material

    Whenever possible, use your own essence — or the essence of others — to empower the result.

In general, any science, exact or not, applied to Modern Minimalism is valid.

Painting — premises

  1. A base color is chosen for the painting; the work is made through it or over it, as the artist wishes.
  2. Apart from the base color, the 4 remaining colors are used to make the work.
  3. As far as possible, colors are not mixed; if they are, the mixture must not be the predominant color.

Following this premise, Modern Minimalism is divided into 2 branches:

Red Yellow Blue White Black
Primary Red · Yellow · Blue + black and white

Characterized by the use of the primary colors, plus black and white.

Orange Purple Green White Black
Secondary Orange · Purple · Green + black and white

Characterized by the use of the secondary colors — obtained by mixing the primaries — plus black and white.

— Peniche

See the works