Art Encyclopedia - Formalism

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Formal / Formalism
In art, formal describes those works which are concerned with an order and a conscious organisation of the elements. In this sense formal is opposite to the intuitive, spontaneous and emotional approach of expressionist painting and sculpture.

Formalism refers to a construction of a two- or three-dimensional work in which the primary concern is with balanced organisation of the elements, that is the formal organisation rather than the expressive organisation.