"The sudden change has had a shock effect on me and on my work. The almost sensual excitement caused by the destruction around me wears off rather quickly. It is not my duty to give this past more significance than it has already been given in literature, on the stage and in the cinema. I am concerned with the figure, with the statuary, i.e., with statics, measurement, equilibrium, and with unity."

“Solidity, rigidity, what did not yield to the pressure of the hand attracted me.”

“Stone is the only true material for the sculptor. All others, tin, iron bars, tin cans and coiled springs are merely poor substitutes”

“My desire to work is not stimulated by the classical proportions of Greek architecture, but by functional silos and hangars.. .The confusion of places, cluttered with art and culture chokes my inspiration. What stimulates and interests me is the natural noise of a busy city, and the practical lay-out of a harbor or factory which has come into being without consideration of any aesthetic principles.”

“Culture can flourish only under the protection of a society with aristocratic characteristics.”

“Only a distinctive individual can produce great art. Great art is synonymous with anonymous art.”

“Our existence has a hectic quality. It is as though mobilization were imminent. Each one of us is suffering; we are all constantly worried as to how we are going through the next day. In spite of all this, we have an unquenchable lust for life.”