6 Quotes & Sayings By Agnes Martin

Agnes Martin was born in the Netherlands. She is best known for her abstract paintings, which are widely celebrated for their purity of line and absence of paint. Martin's works are characterized by their deliberately simplified forms, which she described as "pure art objects." She was an abstract expressionist whose work is rooted in the modernist tradition. She was a member of the Surrealists, but her paintings are devoid of surreal elements Read more

Although she worked in many media, including drawing, printmaking, photography, and films, her paintings are considered to be her most important contribution to art.

1
I don’t believe in influence. I think that in order to be an artist, you have to move. When you stop moving, then you’re no longer an artist. And if you move from somebody else’s position, you simply cannot know the next step. I think that everyone is on his own line. I think that after you’ve made one step, the next step reveals itself. I believe that you were born on this line. I don’t say that the actual footsteps were marked before you get to them, and I don’t say that change isn’t possible in your course. But I do believe we unfold out of ourselves, and we do what we are born to do sooner or later, anyway. Agnes Martin
2
People who look at my painting say that it makes them happy, like the feeling when you wake up in the morning. And happiness is the goal, isn't it? Agnes Martin
3
When I think of art I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye it is in the mind. In our minds there is awareness of perfection. Agnes Martin
4
Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings. Agnes Martin
5
My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind. Agnes Martin