--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is something that always will be…" description: "\"There is something that always will be true about painting and sculpture - that in order to really get it, you have to show up. That is something that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kehinde-wiley-1194_beautiful_there-is-something-that-always-will-be-t_1968903.jpg" --- # There is something that always will be true about painting… ![“There is something that always will be true about painting and sculpture - that in order to really get it, you have to show up. That is something that is both sad and kind of beautiful about it. It remains analog. It remains special and irreducible.” quote by Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kehinde-wiley-1194_beautiful_there-is-something-that-always-will-be-t_1968903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kehinde-wiley-1194_beautiful_there-is-something-that-always-will-be-t_1968903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kehinde-wiley-1194_beautiful_there-is-something-that-always-will-be-t_1968903.jpg) > “There is something that always will be true about painting and sculpture - that in order to really get it, you have to show up. That is something that is both sad and kind of beautiful about it. It remains analog. It remains special and irreducible.” [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding art requires presence; showing up reveals its analog, irreducible beauty. **In simple terms:** Show up to truly grasp art. Key Takeaway Be present to appreciate art. Themes presence art appreciation analog beauty Mood contemplative inspired Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - gallery visits - studio practice - art education - personal reflection Key Concepts existential authenticity artistic experience Questions to Reflect On - How does showing up change your perception of art? - Can presence replace technical skill? A Different Perspective Being present may not guarantee mastery, only exposure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) [Painting Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting-sculpture-608339/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Sculpture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture/) [Sculpture Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sculpture-order-3294003/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [True Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-painting-3294004/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [Painting and sculpture help other people to see what a wonderful world we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-moore/painting-and-sculpture-help-other-people-to-see-what-a-wonderful/) [Henry Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-moore/) > [If an artist has no experience before he makes a painting or a sculpture, he is not an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naum-gabo/if-an-artist-has-no-experience-before-he-makes-a-painting-or-a/) [Naum Gabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naum-gabo/) > [Three things are needed for success in painting and sculpture: to see beauty when young and accustom oneself to it, to work hard, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-lorenzo-bernini/three-things-are-needed-for-success-in-painting-and-sculpture-to-see/) [Gian Lorenzo Bernini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-lorenzo-bernini/) > [Painting and sculpture are very archaic forms. It's the only thing left in our industrial society where an individual alone can make something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/painting-and-sculpture-are-very-archaic-forms-it-s-the-only-thing/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [A painting is merely the image of a tree, a man, or any other object reflected in a fountain. The difference between a painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benvenuto-cellini/a-painting-is-merely-the-image-of-a-tree-a-man-or-any-other-object/) [Benvenuto Cellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benvenuto-cellini/) > [It took me 40 years to find out that painting is not sculpture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/it-took-me-40-years-to-find-out-that-painting-is-not-sculpture/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > [For those who feel it, nothing makes the soul so religious and pure as the endeavor to create something perfect; for God is perfection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/for-those-who-feel-it-nothing-makes-the-soul-so-religious-and-pure-as/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [I came to painting through sculpture, to images through objects. I think that images sit in the middle, somewhere between objects and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-came-to-painting-through-sculpture-to-images-through-objects-i/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [Just physically, if you looked at the house that I grew up in, my mother created this greenhouse. And surrounded the entire property. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/just-physically-if-you-looked-at-the-house-that-i-grew-up-in-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Dancing and building are the two primary and essential arts. The art of dancing stands at the source of all the arts that expressthemselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/dancing-and-building-are-the-two-primary-and-essential-arts-the-art/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [There are only four great arts: music, painting, sculpture, and ornamental pastry- architecture being perhaps the least banal derivative of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/there-are-only-four-great-arts-music-painting-sculpture-and/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Originally, one of the reasons I was drawn to photography, as opposed to painting or sculpture or installation, is that of all the arts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-crewdson/originally-one-of-the-reasons-i-was-drawn-to-photography-as-opposed/) [Gregory Crewdson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-crewdson/) > [Lou Tyrrell has created a theatre that is a safe haven for playwrights, a birthing center for new American writing. Arts Garage has created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-horovitz/lou-tyrrell-has-created-a-theatre-that-is-a-safe-haven-for/) [Israel Horovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israel-horovitz/) > [I'm inspired by a lot of stuff. I always was interested in sculpture and painting and music and literature and all those things. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gehry/i-m-inspired-by-a-lot-of-stuff-i-always-was-interested-in-sculpture/) [Frank Gehry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gehry/) > [At its best, what art does is, it points to who we as human beings and what we as human beings value. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/at-its-best-what-art-does-is-it-points-to-who-we-as-human-beings-and/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## More by Kehinde Wiley > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The erotic and the art historical imagination is something that gets very little play when people talk about my work, and when they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/the-erotic-and-the-art-historical-imagination-is-something-that-gets/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [At its best, what art does is, it points to who we as human beings and what we as human beings value. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/at-its-best-what-art-does-is-it-points-to-who-we-as-human-beings-and/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [My style is in the 21st century. If you look at the process, it goes from photography through Photoshop, where certain features are heightened,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/my-style-is-in-the-21st-century-if-you-look-at-the-process-it-goes/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think the world that I grew up in was like being in this sort of magical artistic garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-the-world-that-i-grew-up-in-was-like-being-in-this-sort-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [It was something that came sort of matter-of-factually. Because there - it's like really - real honest engagement with the people around me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/it-was-something-that-came-sort-of-matter-of-factually-because-there/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [We're wired to be empathetic and to care about the needs of others, but also to be curious about others. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/we-re-wired-to-be-empathetic-and-to-care-about-the-needs-of-others/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Painting is situational. And my particular situation exists within gender, race, class, sexuality, nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/painting-is-situational-and-my-particular-situation-exists-within/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [There were certain expectations that were assumed of me as a young black American 20th-century - then 20th-century artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-were-certain-expectations-that-were-assumed-of-me-as-a-young/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I think, something that you might be able to locate in the work that I'm creating today: the ability to look at a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-think-something-that-you-might-be-able-to-locate-in-the-work-that-i/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I remember the first time I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and saw a Kerry James Marshall painting with black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-the-los-angeles-county-museum-of/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I believe that artists should be part of the culture. I think that my work clearly bears that out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-believe-that-artists-should-be-part-of-the-culture-i-think-that-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [I guess art is in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/i-guess-art-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [Just physically, if you looked at the house that I grew up in, my mother created this greenhouse. And surrounded the entire property. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/just-physically-if-you-looked-at-the-house-that-i-grew-up-in-my/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Explore all 275 Kehinde Wiley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is something that always will be true about painting and sculpture - that in order to really get it, you have to show up. That is something that is both sad and kind of beautiful about it. It remains analog. It remains special and irreducible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kehinde Wiley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-is-something-that-always-will-be-true-about-painting-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-is-something-that-always-will-be-true-about-painting-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kehinde-wiley-1194_beautiful_there-is-something-that-always-will-be-t_1968903.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kehinde-wiley-1194_beautiful_there-is-something-that-always-will-be-t_1968903.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/296/kehinde-wiley-1194_beautiful_there-is-something-that-always-will-be-t_1968903.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is something that always will be true about painting and sculpture - that in order to really get it…” — Kehinde Wiley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kehinde Wiley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is something that always will...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-is-something-that-always-will-be-true-about-painting-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/there-is-something-that-always-will-be-true-about-painting-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```