Minimalist aestheticsA term used to explore and explain the look and sensual appeal of a work of art, craft or design. The term embraces aspects of... was shaped by a reaction against Abstract ExpressionismThis is a style of non-representational painting that combines Expressionism with abstraction. An early abstract expressionist painter was Wassily Kandinsky, later ones include Mark Rothko.... Minimalists wanted to remove suggestions of self-expressionism from the artwork. The aim is simplicity, allowing the viewer to interact with the artwork more intensely, without the distractions of traditional formal properties.