Artwork is a representation of our devotion to life.
— Agnes Martin
My paintings are certainly nonobjective. They're just horizontal lines.
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?
One thing I like about Zen. It doesn't believe in achievement.
I'm very careful not to have ideas, because they're inaccurate.
Any material may be used but the theme is the same and the response is the same for all artwork... we all have the same concern, but the artist must know exactly what the experience is. He must pursue the truth relentlessly.
Happiness is being on the beam with life - to feel the pull of life.
The worst thing you can think about when you're working is yourself.
When I first made a grid, I happened to be thinking of the innocence of trees, and then a grid came into my mind and I thought it represented innocence, and I still do, and so I painted it and then I was satisfied. I thought, 'This is my vision.'
The value of art is in the observer.
The main thing in making art often is letting go of your expectation and your idea.
My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind.
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.
You can't make a perfect painting. We can see perfection in our minds. But we can't make a perfect painting.
The Minimalists are idealist. They want to minimize themselves in favor of the ideal... But I just can't. You see, my paintings are not cool.
I don't think the way to succeed is by doing something aggressive. Aggression is weak-minded.
I think everyone is born 100 percent ego, and after that it's just adjustment.
Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.
To progress in life you must give up the things you do not like. Give up doing the things that you do not like to do. You must find the things that you do like. The things that are acceptable to your mind.
