Oscar Niemeyer Quotes
Born: December 15, 1907
Oscar Niemeyer, the visionary Brazilian architect, reshaped the skyline of modern civilization with sinuous curves and daring concrete forms. More than a builder, he was a poet of space, believing architecture should inspire surprise and delight. His philosophy—that form should follow beauty, not just function—challenged rigid modernism and championed creativity as a liberating force. Niemeyer’s masterpieces, from Brasília’s futuristic cathedral to the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, are testaments to his belief that art must touch the soul. His quotes resonate because they speak to the rebel in every creator: the courage to dream in curves and build with passion.
Oscar Niemeyer Quotes (25)
"Curves are the essence of my work because they are the essence of Brazil, pure and simple."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Surprise is key in all art."
— Oscar Niemeyer"It was the drawing that led me to architecture, the search for light and astonishing forms."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Architecture will always express the technical and social progress of the country in which it is carried out. If we wish to give it the human content that it lacks, we must participate in the political struggle."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Architecture is invention."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Humanity needs dreams to be able to survive the miseries of daily existence, even if only for an instant."
— Oscar Niemeyer"My work is not about 'form follows function,' but 'form follows beauty' or, even better, 'form follows feminine.'"
— Oscar Niemeyer"Form follows beauty."
— Oscar Niemeyer"For me beauty is valued more than anything - the beauty that is manifest in a curved line or in an act of creativity."
— Oscar Niemeyer"I am a Brazilian before I am an architect. I cannot separate the two."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Right angles don't attract me. Nor straight, hard and inflexible lines created by man."
— Oscar Niemeyer"I search for surprise in my architecture. A work of art should cause the emotion of newness."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Architecture is my work, and I've spent my whole life at a drawing board, but life is more important than architecture. What matters is to improve human beings."
— Oscar Niemeyer"The artistic capability of reinforced concrete is so fantastic - that is the way to go."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Sometimes I lose a whole morning waiting on journalists and other people who look for me. But I always find some time for reading, talking to my friends and feeling what is happening in this world."
— Oscar Niemeyer"I enter my studio at 9 a.m. I have lunch here, I return right away to my work and I go out to dinner at 8 p.m. My daily tasks vary very much."
— Oscar Niemeyer"It is not with architecture that one can disseminate any political ideology."
— Oscar Niemeyer"I think of myself as no more than 60. What I could do at 60, I can still do now."
— Oscar Niemeyer"When I was very little my mother said I used to draw in the air with my fingers. I needed a pencil. Once I could hold one, I have drawn every day since."
— Oscar Niemeyer"I pick up my pen. It flows. A building appears. There it is. There is nothing more to say."
— Oscar Niemeyer"Of course, I have given my engineers some headaches over the years, but they go with me. I have always wanted my buildings to be as light as possible, to touch the ground gently, to swoop and soar, and to surprise."
— Oscar Niemeyer"When students leave college, they are like children who know nothing about the problems of life, and don't have a political stance."
— Oscar Niemeyer"There is no reason to design buildings that are more basic and rectilinear, because with concrete you can cover almost any space."
— Oscar Niemeyer"I like talking to priests, to Catholics. Everyone has their beliefs."
— Oscar Niemeyer"The challenge of a cathedral is very good for architectural inventiveness."
— Oscar Niemeyer