Artnet News published a podcast episode featuring writer and editor Katie White, who discusses her article "Bordercore: Why Frames Became the New Frontier in Contemporary Art." White explores how contemporary artists are reimagining picture frames as surreal, sculptural, and symbolic elements that actively comment on, disrupt, or extend the artwork beyond its traditional boundaries. She cites examples like Stephanie Temma Hier's 2021 work "Sparks and Tremors," which combines oil on linen with glazed stoneware sculpture, and notes that statement frames are increasingly appearing at art fairs and exhibitions after a long period of frameless display.
This shift matters because it represents a broader cultural and aesthetic reaction against the "superflat virtual age" of digital imagery. Where previous generations saw frames as a distraction from the intellectual experience of art, today's artists use them to pull viewers back into a bodily, haptic encounter with the work. By treating the frame as a central character rather than a peripheral container, artists are redefining the boundaries of painting and challenging long-held assumptions about what constitutes the artwork itself.