“I will say without reservations that from my point of view there can be no abstractions. Any shape or area that has not the pulsating concreteness of real flesh and bones, its vulnerability to pleasure or pain is nothing at all. Any picture that does not provide the environment in which the breath of life can be drawn does not interest me.” DoeRealPainInterestPleasureViewsEnvironmentShapesAreasBreathsBonesPoint Of ViewFleshVulnerabilityAbstractionReservations Author:Mark Rothko
“I think abstraction is a very rich area. And it is upsetting that people seem to have some fear of it. I'm constantly making these statements about how you should just look at it and react to it on your own; just relax and let go.” PeopleThinkingShouldLooksSeemsRichLetting GoAreasStatementsUpsetRelaxAbstraction Author:Brice Marden
“I have been interested in the dialogue of abstraction and modernist painting - and the rich history of the grid. I also think I have been influenced a bit by some of the particular qualities of the Bay Area. The weather and the atmosphere here is so exotic, like the fog rolling in and the nuanced differences in the quality of light.” ThinkingHas BeensLightBitsDifferencesQualityRichParticularPaintingAreasDialogueWeatherAtmosphereRollingFogAbstractionExoticGridsBay Area Author:Stephen Beal
“I am no longer interested in seeing and knowing everything all at once in my work. Technically I select the area of focus and if it's possible I try to make an amalgamation of every shape and color in the picture so that it acquires a circular movement: from representation to abstraction, from life to death, and vice-versa.” IfsTryingKnowingFocusSeeingMovementColorShapesAreasVicesAcquireRepresentationAbstractionSelectVice VersaKnowing EverythingAmalgamation Author:Olivo Barbieri