Agnes Martin
Agnes Martin
Agnes Bernice Martin, born in Canada, was an American abstract painter. Often referred to as a minimalist, Martin considered herself an abstract expressionist. Her work has been defined as an "essay in discretion, inwardness and silence"...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionPainter
Date of Birth22 March 1912
CityMacklin, Canada
CountryCanada
art feelings emotion
Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.
ideas want favour
The Minimalists are idealist. They want to minimise themselves in favour of the ideal. But I just can't. You see, my paintings are not cool. ... I'm very careful not to have ideas, because they're inaccurate.
world paint
I paint with my back to the world
artist may artwork
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
eye mind mystery
Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye, it is in the mind.
inspiration mind realizing
Inspiration is there all the time. For everyone whose mind is not clouded over with thoughts whether they realize it or not.
self pitfalls devotion
The enormous pitfall is devotion to oneself instead of to life. All works that are self-devoted are absolutely ineffective.
thinking worst worst-things
The worst thing you can think about when you’re working is yourself,
beach ocean looks
There's nobody living who couldn't stand all afternoon in front of a waterfall .... Anyone who can sit on a stone in a field awhile can see my painting. Nature is like parting a curtain, you go into it .... as you would cross an empty beach to look at the ocean.
art night thinking
I once taught art to adults in a night course. I had a woman who painted her back yard, and she said it was the first time she had ever really looked at it. I think everyone sees beauty. Art is a way to respond
mind looks covered
When you look in your mind you find it covered with a lot of rubbishy thoughts. You have to penetrate these and hear what your mind is telling you to do. Such work is original work.
way born
Doing what you were born to do … That's the way to be happy.
life
Artwork is a representation of our devotion to life.
paintings
My paintings are certainly nonobjective. They're just horizontal lines.