Quotes from Arshile Gorky

The secret is to throw yourself into the water of life again and again, not to hang back, no reservations, risk everything, but above all strike out boldly with all you have.

Movement is the translation of life, and if art depicts life, movement should come into art, since we are only aware of living because it moves.

Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes....Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind. It is an exploration into unknown areas.

The eyes of the Armenians speak long before the lips move and long after they cease to.

Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes.

We are part of the world creation, and we ourselves create nothing. Our knowledge allows us to make use of all the forces already in existence, our art to interpret emotions already felt. One big war, an epidemic, and we collapse into ignorance and darkness, fit sons of chimpanzees.

I do not paint in front of but from within nature.

One big war, an epidemic, and we collapse into ignorance and darkness, fit sons of chimpanzees.

I seek a form of language which will express my ideas for our time.

The eyes of the Armenians speak long before the lips move and long after they cease to.

Art must always remain earnest... Art must be serious, no sarcasm, comedy. One does not laugh at a loved one.

Drawing is the basis of art. A bad painter cannot draw. But one who draws well can always paint.