Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible.

The craft of painting has virtually disappeared. There is hardly anyone left who really possesses it. For evidence one has only to look at the painters of this century.

The best way to begin is to say: 'Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. And now let us have a look at the paintings'.

I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings.

I will always find even the worst paintings that attempt some kind of representation better than the best invented paintings.

If you speak of beauty, you are at once suspected of...kitsch.

I had only planned to strike the gong violently in order to somehow shake people up and make them more aware. I think I succeeded.