Minimalism, Compression, and Omission

Judith Trepp, oil and acrylic on linen, 2017

The power of minimalism derives from two sources: compression and omission. The thousand things unsaid concentrate power into the one thing that is said. Ken Kesey described how he was once participating in a chaotic late 60s scene at Apple Studios in London when John Lennon walked in and silenced and focused everyone with a single word. That's authority, which needs to be in place to make the compression and omission work.