Rococo

Rococo makes no apology for decoration. It belongs to the long tradition of pattern created simply because a surface can be more interesting with it than without it.

The Rococo period pushed that idea with particular enthusiasm. Ornament escaped the discipline of symmetry and straight lines, curling into scrolls, shells and foliage. Decoration became animated, even mischievous. More was not necessarily excess. More could simply mean more pleasure.

That spirit sits behind Rococo. The intertwined scroll is deliberately abundant, allowing one flourish to lead directly into another. There is little interest in restraint here. The enjoyment comes from allowing pattern to fill the surface and trusting ornament to hold its own.

This confidence in decoration feels increasingly relevant. After decades in which minimalism dominated much of contemporary design, pattern has returned without the same need to justify itself. Historical references can be mixed, enlarged, recoloured and removed from their original context. Ornament becomes a language to work with rather than a set of rules to follow.

Rococo embraces that freedom wholeheartedly. It is decorative because decoration is enjoyable, intricate because intricacy has its own beauty, and exuberant because sometimes restraint is simply the less interesting choice.

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