Only an 'almost,' a 'nearly,' is possible.

- Arnulf Rainer

... I felt like a new man; but I was disappointed with the photographic documentation because I still saw always the old self.

- Arnulf Rainer

The principles of my works... are the extinction of expression, permanent covering and contemplative tranquillity... My ideal is the completely dark …

- Arnulf Rainer

I have settled down in this border area; I am trying to find distinct standards of shape, and I long to experience, formulate, and evoke this dark, h…

- Arnulf Rainer

I could only relax when there was just one tiny white last spot left. I could see more clearly. I could grasp the shape of the picture again... The p…

- Arnulf Rainer

Sometimes I had to force the overpainting of three corners almost without any feeling for shape, almost without inspiration, only to find my way back…

- Arnulf Rainer

Only the four corners of the background remained. It was terribly difficult to fix my eyes on all of them at the same time. My experience was that th…

- Arnulf Rainer

In 1968 I frequently would sit in a photo booth and practice self mirror images which I then documented photographically. Curious types would always …

- Arnulf Rainer

the 'total overpaintings' developed... through incessant reworking. The original motif peeped through the edges. Gradually it vanished completely.

- Arnulf Rainer