Jenny Saville

"This was one of the first poems I read that gave me the shock of recognition that great poets offer. “Withered stumps of time,” “I will show you fear in a handful of dust,” “these fragments I have shored against my ruins.” I even like the obscurity of parts of the poem that have unraveled throughout my life when reading other books and ancient myths. It’s a modern epic from ancient history."

"I’ve mixed colors, painted and drawn with many lines of Rilke’s poetry circulating in my head — lines like, “and there were even bits of eternity in my intestines,” from “The Song of the Suicide.” I’ve made several bodies of work in recent years thinking about visualizing the line, “And one sees to the bottom of time.” Rilke’s “The Book of Images” and “Duino Elegies” are great companions. It’s the visceral, intense and mysterious quality to his words that hang in the air around my studio. “To work is to live without dying” was Rilke’s motto."

"This is a set of six volumes and it’s expensive — but worth it for life. Van Gogh’s letters, along with the letters of Cezanne, are always inspirational to read. His pursuit of reality is thrilling, his lack of confidence, fears, doubts, excitement, his passion for nature and intensity when he talks about color, and the future of art drive you and help you accept your follies as an artist. And he did it all in such a short period of time."

"You think that you work hard at being a rigorous and curious artist? Look at these collected notes and papers and here is measure for your purpose. The depth of his investigative eye and ambition is astonishing. You’ve got to look, to record, to examine the world through direct experience, to imagine a future. I also love that he struggled to finish anything, which at least gives me some comfort as I suffer from the same malaise."