Zen art
Contemplative Japanese craft
Zen art encompasses visual and performing arts influenced by Zen Buddhist philosophy—emphasizing simplicity, spontaneity, and direct expression of insight.
Traditional forms include ink wash painting, calligraphy, rock gardens, and the tea ceremony.
The aesthetic values empty space, imperfection, and the trace of the artist's unmediated gesture: The single brushstroke captures Zen art's ideal of effortless action.
- rock gardenArranged stones with plants
- sumi-eJapanese monochrome brush painting
- brush strokesMarks from painting tool
- wabi-sabiAesthetic valuing transience, incompleteness
- empty spaceArea devoid of contents
minimalism · haiku poetry · calligraphy · mindfulness practice · quiet mind · inner peace · koan · non-attachment · tea ceremony · harmony with nature · natural beauty · sacred spaces · Japanese aesthetics · impermanence · fluidity · shoji screens · zazen · ikebana
Zen artRococo
Lavishly ornamented decorative style
ornate decoration · maximalism · Byzantine art · Art Nouveau · Fabergé