Helen Frankenthaler
Color field pioneer of soak-stain technique.
Most quoted
"There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about."
— from Interview/Statement
"A really good picture looks as if it was meant to be that way. But that's the difficulty: to make a picture that looks effortlessly right."
— from Interview, 1980
"I didn't think the paintings looked like landscapes, but they were landscapes. The landscapes were in my arms as I did it."
— from Interview, 1953
All quotes by Helen Frankenthaler (100)
In abstract painting, emotion is the brushstroke.
I learned from Pollock that painting is action.
The world is full of color waiting to be captured.
Doubt is the enemy of creation; trust your instincts.
My paintings are like memories fading into the canvas.
Art should surprise, not explain.
The studio is my sanctuary, where chaos becomes order.
Innovation in art comes from breaking free of tradition.
Every stroke tells a story unspoken.
Painting is my way of breathing deeply.
Abstract art is the language of the soul.
I paint what I feel, not what I see.
The canvas holds secrets only the artist knows.
Life's beauty is in its fleeting colors.
To create is to conquer fear.
My work is a dialogue between paint and space.
Art is not about perfection, but expression.
In the studio, time stands still.
Colors dance when given freedom.
The profound in art is the simple made complex.
Contemporaries of Helen Frankenthaler
Other Visual Artss born within 50 years of Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011).