Artwork Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old artwork quotes, artwork sayings, and artwork proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Artwork is a representation of our devotion to life. Agnes Martin
I think the optimal artwork is in constant circulation with the world around itself. Aleksandra Mir
Artwork can be a portal, a kind of rethinking and reseeing of the world as we live it. Todd Solondz
While some part of the artwork may fail, the whole may have its own unique importance. Eric Maisel
The seed of your next artwork lies embedded in the imperfections of your current piece. David Bayles
There is much to be said for the artwork that answers horror by rejecting or transcending it. Alex Ross
Whenever you finish an artwork and the viewer comes and views it, at that moment you've given up control. Jeff Koons
An artwork should point in more than one direction, not be this sort of placating, self-demonstrating, witnessing element. Luc Tuymans
How can anybody learn anything from an artwork when the piece of art only reflects the vanity of the artist and not reality? Lou Reed
I think that artworks are like these spiritual objects: I think that they have energies and powers beyond what the eye can see. Dan Colen
To make an artwork good enough to enter people's hearts is like what ancient Chinese called 'making stone into gold.' It is alchemy. Li Shan
To give a price to an artwork, no matter how high or low, is always absurd. It's not something that can be measured by money or by certain numbers. Ai Weiwei
The artwork had very little to do with the thought process, and the writing too, for that matter. What happens, happens, and it happens outside the brain. Jules Feiffer
Attention is what creates value. Artworks are made as well by how people interact with them - and therefore by what quality of interaction they can inspire. Brian Eno
Some visual artworks are made to be talked about more than to be seen, others are made to be seen more than to be talked about. I think I belong in the latter category. Mati Klarwein
Artwork is not like a commercial business; there is no such thing as a schedule for art. You can't hurry art. Michael Heizer
Artwork is not thought up in consciousness and then, as a separate phase, executed by the hand. The hand surprises us creates and solves problems on its own. Often, enigmas that baffle our brains are dealt with easily, unconsciously, by the hand. Stephen Nachmanovitch
Artwork operates on two different levels: On one level there's artwork as a mode of expressivity, and then there's the other side, where the image is a construction that is meant to engage in a discursive field in order to preform a particular function. Kerry James Marshall
The promise of any artwork is that it can hold us - viewer and maker - in a conflicted or contestable space, without real-world injury or loss. Kara Walker
A work of art expresses itself as a balance sheet pitting the spoken against the unspoken. Eli Siegel
Every single work of art is the fulfillment of a prophecy; for every work of art is the conversion of an idea into an image. Oscar Wilde
The true work of art continues to unfold and create within the personality of the spectator. It is a continuous coming into being. Mervyn Levy
A work of art is one through which the consciousness of the artist is able to give its emotions to anyone who is prepared to receive them. Muriel Rukeyser
A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind. Eugene Ionesco
A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle. Grace Hartigan
A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art. Paul Cezanne
Only the work of art itself can raise the standard of taste. Diego Rivera
A work of art doesn't dare you to realize it. It germinates and gestates by itself. John Huston
Every work of art is the child of its time, often it is the mother of our emotions. Wassily Kandinsky
A work of art is a world in itself reflecting senses and emotions of the artist's world. Hans Hofmann
Any artwork needs time and patience and needs above a quiet mind. Flora Thompson
The digital artwork is characterized not by the technology which delivers it, but by the "passage" itself. Masha Tupitsyn
Any artwork is part of something larger, grander and, you know, the situation that it's in is very important. Robert Barry
In an artwork you're always looking for artistic decisions, so an ashtray is perfect. An ashtray has got life and death. Damien Hirst
Any work of art dignifies life. James Ponsoldt
The work of art is the exaggeration of an idea. Andre Gide
The work of art is a scream of freedom. Christo
Any work of art ... is great when it makes you feel that its creator has dipped into your very heart for his sensation. Fannie Hurst
Any genuine work of art generates new work. Donald Barthelme
Every work of art depicts an aspect of reality. Friedrich Durrenmatt
Any work of art must first of all tell a story. Robert Frost
A work of art comes only from inside a human being. Edvard Munch
The work of art is above all a process of creation. Paul Klee
In every work of art, the artist himself is present. Christian Morgenstern
A work of art comes out of a state of deep stillness. Eckhart Tolle
Every true work of art must express a distinct feeling. Caspar David Friedrich
Every authentic work of art is a gift offered to the future. Albert Camus
A great work of art is one that continues to repay attention. Christopher Ricks
A true work of art can stand many seeings, revealing anew at each seeing. John Marin
Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience. Rebecca West