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My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind.

Agnes Martin

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.
AGNES MARTIN

Afternoon Beach Front Living Nature Nobody Ocean Stand Waterfall
Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye, it is in the mind.
AGNES MARTIN

Beauty Eye Life Mind Mystery
Withdraws and makes itself up again pulls itself together with pride towers with pride rushes forward into imaginary conquest crashes in frustration withdraws with remorse and repentance pulls itself together with new resolution
AGNES MARTIN

Conquer Crashes Forward Make Pride Pull Repentance Tower Withdrawl
The artist works by awareness of his own state of mind.
AGNES MARTIN

Artist Awareness Mind Own State Work
It is commonly thought that everything that is can be put into words.
AGNES MARTIN

Commonly Everything Put Thought Word
This is the attractiveness of artwork. It is adventurous, strenuous and joyful.
AGNES MARTIN

Adventurous Artwork Attractiveness Joyful Stremous
The adventurous state of mind is a high house… The joy of adventure is unaccountable.
AGNES MARTIN

Adventure High House Joy Mind State
I hope I have made it clear that the work is about perfection as we are aware of it in our minds but that the paintings are very far from being perfect – completely removed in fact – even as we ourselves are.
AGNES MARTIN

Art Aware Hope Made Mind Ourself Perfect Perfection
The manipulation of materials in an artwork is a result of this state of mind.
AGNES MARTIN

Artwork Manipulation Material Mind Result State
Beauty and happiness and life are all the same and they are pervasive, unattached and abstract and they are our only concern.
AGNES MARTIN

Abstract Art Beauty Happiness Perfect Pervasive Sublime Unattached
Fulfill your potential. That’s the way to happiness.
AGNES MARTIN

Fulfill Happiness Potential Way
They are immeasurable, completely lacking in substance. They are perfect and sublime. This is the subject matter of art.
AGNES MARTIN

Art Completely Lacking Memory Perfect Subject Sublime Substance
I want to emphasize the fact that we all have the same experience and the same concern, but the artist must know exactly what the experience is. He must pursue the truth relentlessly.
AGNES MARTIN

Artist Concern Emphasize Exactly Experience Feet Mind Pursue Relentlessly Same
The enormous pitfall is devotion to oneself instead of to life. All works that are self-devoted are absolutely ineffective.
AGNES MARTIN

Devotion Enormous Instead Life Oneself Pitfall Self
You can’t make a perfect painting. We can see perfection in our minds. But we can’t make a perfect painting.
AGNES MARTIN

Art Mind Painting Perfect Perfection
All that seems like error is not error; and it all has to be done. That which seems like a false step is the next step.
AGNES MARTIN

Done Error False Next Seem Step

My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind.

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My paintings are not about what is seen. They are about what is known forever in the mind.

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