Frank Stella

Visual Arts United States 1936 97 quotes

Minimalist of shaped canvases and 'what you see is what you see'.

Most quoted

"The problem with painting is that it's always been about something else. It's always been about telling a story or representing something."

— from Working Space, 1986

"I wanted to make paintings that were as good as anybody else's paintings, and I wanted to make them in a way that was new."

— from Interview with Frank Stella by Gene Swenson, 'What is Pop Art?', 1964

"I'm not interested in making art that's easy to understand. I'm interested in making art that's challenging."

— from Working Space, 1986

All quotes by Frank Stella (97)

The object is the art.

Interview 1967

I seek the truth in form.

Interview 1980

Art lives in the moment of creation.

Speech 1972

The canvas speaks for itself.

Interview 1960

Innovation comes from necessity.

Book (Working Space) 1986

I paint to discover.

Interview 1969

The artist's life is the work.

Interview 1995

Abstraction is reality.

Speech 1975

Form is everything.

Interview 1968

I don't compromise in art.

Interview 1980

The painting must engage the viewer.

Speech 1970

Space and color are intertwined.

Book (Working Space) 1986

Art is eternal in its simplicity.

Interview 1966

I create worlds on canvas.

Interview 1978

The minimal path leads to profundity.

Interview 1967

Painting is my language.

Speech 1990

Truth in art is visual.

Interview 1964