Artists on Artists

“There is a childlike side in the work of the Dadaists, Klee, Miró, Calder and Picasso. I am trying to make things that are very, very serious, and what comes out of it is things that are quite friendly, gay, and sometimes even amusing. [Chaim] Soutine tried to work like Rembrandt, and yet there is nothing of Rembrandt in his pictures.” —Yaacov Agam

“…first and foremost Picasso [influenced me] with his exuberant structures and figures, and also the amazing Matisse with his rainbow of colors. I became familiar with these two artists through books I read in Brazil. When I moved to the United States, I was introduced to Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and the fantastic Roy Lichtenstein.” —Romero Britto

“Frankly, if Picasso himself wanted to teach me, I don’t think I would have wanted to study with him because I didn’t want to be a little Picasso. I wanted to fail or succeed strictly on my own terms. If you want to find that uniqueness in your work, you have to invent a way of expressing it; you have to find out how to do it. You invent how to do it.” —Robert Kipniss

“Missa Breve,” (2005), Tomasz Rut

“Some people adore Picasso, some hate him. Some swear by Pollack, and some say all art is dead besides Michelangelo. But whatever the form art manifests itself in, it is quality of what it communicates that gives art its impact. I look for inspiration in classical art. My paintings give people the ability to learn, respond, and feel comfortable with the classics.” —Tomasz Rut