I’ve noticed that abstract art is the go-to style for most home decorating. This is the style I see most often advertised by Instagram artists, and much (if not most) of what I see sold in home decor stores.
It’s not my favorite style and I think it has much less artistic merit than more realistic styles of art. No offense to such artists—I just feel that it takes considerably less skill to paint a canvas into a fading gradient and then splash contrasting colors on it, than it does to paint a human figure or a detailed landscape, which demands a command of anatomy, detail, depth perception, perspective, lighting, shading, coloration, etc.
My simple theory is just that the average person is already so bombarded by the white noise of their smart devices—social media, email, notifications—that they’re brains no longer find pleasure in anything other than simplicity.
Much easier to stare at a canvas of shapes and colors than a baroque ceiling stuffed with clouds and angels. The solace of simplicity in a world of overstimulation is a driving force behind the market demand for abstract art.
Just my opinion—I know some people actually prefer abstraction.