minimales

Minimales is a term used in several languages to refer to minimalism, a broad movement in art, architecture, design, and music that emphasizes simplicity, reduction of form, and the removal of extraneous details. The concept centers on revealing essential aspects of a work by limiting elements such as color, texture, and narrative content. In visual arts, minimales describe works that use geometric shapes, industrial materials, and a restrained color palette to focus attention on space, proportion, and minimal means of expression. Notable figures associated with minimalist visual art include Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Carl Andre, whose works often occupy or interact with the surrounding space rather than depict representational subjects.

In music, minimales refers to minimalist music, characterized by repetitive motifs, a steady pulse, gradual processes, and an emphasis on timbre and process over complex development. Composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and La Monte Young are foundational figures, with techniques including phasing and gradual pattern transformations.

In architecture and design, minimales-informed practices favor clean lines, functional forms, and materials presented in their natural state. Influences from the Bauhaus and later modernist movements are common, with architects like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier cited as precursors. In product and graphic design, minimalism prioritizes usability and clarity, as seen in the work of Dieter Rams and Swiss-style typography.

Today, minimales can serve as a shorthand for minimalist approaches across disciplines in Spanish-, Portuguese-, and English-language discourse, describing works that prioritize essential features over decorative detail. The movement remains influential, though it continues to attract discussion about accessibility, expression, and cultural associations.