13 Inspiring Minimalist Quotes on Art and Aesthetics

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The minimalist movement has taken root in many parts of life, including design, interior decorating, psychology, and economics. Many people have adopted a minimalist mindset to improve their well-being and the well-being of the planet, and this dedication to a minimized life is particularly discernible in art and design.
We’ve collected these minimalist quotes from modern artists who have painted, sculpted, and photographed the meaning of the movement throughout the 20th and 21st century. Coupled with beautiful minimalist images from the Shutterstock collection, let these quotes inspire you to do more with less.

“Don’t ask what the work is. Rather, see what the work does.”
- Eva Hesse

^ Image by Nina Malyna

“You shouldn’t be a prisoner of your own ideas.”
- Sol LeWitt

^ Image by frankie’s
“There is a poetic nature to minimalism that is about striking a balance between full and empty.”
- Jennie C. Jones

^ Image by untitled
“If I already have a vision, my work is almost done. The rest is a technical problem.”
- Hiroshi Sugimoto

^ Image by Landscape_pro
“I’ve always been interested in using raw, untouched materials rather than transforming a material’s shape or form.”
- Jose Dávila

^Image by Taurus106
“I think as time goes on, physics discovers what artists are already painting or doing.”
- Mary Corse

^ Image by moopsi
“What you see is what you see.”
- Frank Stella

^Image by Miks Mihails Ignats
“In drawing, I don’t erase. I believe the original gesture has to be the best.”
- Ellsworth Kelley

^Image by Yury Shchipakin
“Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.”
- Agnes Martin

^ Image by Todd Klassy
“Art cannot solve a political problem – it can only reflect it. If there is a political obstacle to art then we have to remove it.”
- Rasheed Araeen

^ Image by one AND only
“Every time I have had a problem, I have confronted it with the ax of art.”
- Yayoi Kusama

^ Image by VTT Studio
“Art, like science, is a constant probing of the unknown.”
- Harold Cousins

^ Image by Yuriy Bel’mesov
“It is what it is and it ain’t nothing else.”
- Dan Flavin

Image by Fenderosa 

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13 Inspiring Minimalist Quotes on Art and Aesthetics

“Don’t ask what the work is. Rather, see what the work does.”

- Eva Hesse

“You shouldn’t be a prisoner of your own ideas.”

- Sol LeWitt

“There is a poetic nature to minimalism that is about striking a balance between full and empty.”

- Jennie C. Jones

“If I already have a vision, my work is almost done. The rest is a technical problem.”

- Hiroshi Sugimoto

“I’ve always been interested in using raw, untouched materials rather than transforming a material’s shape or form.”

- Jose Dávila

“I think as time goes on, physics discovers what artists are already painting or doing.”

- Mary Corse

“What you see is what you see.”

- Frank Stella

“In drawing, I don’t erase. I believe the original gesture has to be the best.”

- Ellsworth Kelley

“Art is the concrete representation of our most subtle feelings.”

- Agnes Martin

“Art cannot solve a political problem – it can only reflect it. If there is a political obstacle to art then we have to remove it.”

- Rasheed Araeen

“Every time I have had a problem, I have confronted it with the ax of art.”

- Yayoi Kusama

“Art, like science, is a constant probing of the unknown.”

- Harold Cousins

“It is what it is and it ain’t nothing else.”

- Dan Flavin

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