Everything is expressed through relationship. Colour can exist
Everything is expressed through relationship. Colour can exist only through other colours, dimension through other dimensions, position through other positions that oppose them. That is why I regard relationship as the principal thing.
The words of Piet Mondrian—“Everything is expressed through relationship. Colour can exist only through other colours, dimension through other dimensions, position through other positions that oppose them. That is why I regard relationship as the principal thing”—carry the profound harmony of a sage who saw the hidden order behind the visible world. They remind us that nothing exists in isolation; all meaning is born through contrast, balance, and connection.
The ancients knew this truth well. Heraclitus declared that the bow and the lyre sing only through the tension of opposites, that war and peace, day and night, are bound together in eternal dance. So too does Mondrian speak: a single colour cannot be known without another beside it, a lone dimension has no form unless set against another, a single position is meaningless without opposition. Thus, existence itself is dialogue—one thing finding its essence through its relationship with another.
In this way, Mondrian elevates relationship as the principal force of creation, not only in art but in life. The painter places blue beside red, line beside space, and in their interplay emerges beauty. The same is true of human experience: self finds definition through others, joy finds meaning through sorrow, and strength is revealed only in the presence of struggle. Without contrast, life is silent and void; with it, the world becomes a symphony.
This truth is also heroic, for it humbles the solitary soul. No man is complete in himself, no idea stands apart from the web of thought. To recognize the primacy of relationship is to embrace interdependence as the law of existence. The ancients taught that the cosmos was not chaos, but order born of balance—light and shadow, earth and sky, body and spirit, all bound in sacred proportion.
So let this teaching endure: seek not to exist apart, for apartness is emptiness. See instead that all things, whether colours on a canvas or souls in a community, are made whole through their relationship to others. In this truth lies harmony, in this harmony lies beauty, and in this beauty lies the secret structure of the universe itself.
TTNguyen Thu thuy
Mondrian’s perspective on relationships as the defining element of all things really makes me reflect on how interconnected everything is. The idea that one thing cannot exist without its opposite or counterpart reminds me of how balance plays a crucial role in both art and life. How often do we overlook the importance of contrasts and opposites in our lives? Could embracing these relationships bring more clarity and depth to how we experience the world?
UGUser Google
I love the depth of this quote. It seems like Mondrian is suggesting that nothing can truly be understood without its contrast. Colour, for instance, is not just about the hue but how it relates to the colours next to it. Does this extend beyond art into how we understand ourselves or the world around us? Are our experiences defined by the relationships between events, people, and ideas, rather than being independent?
WNWao Nguyen
Mondrian’s emphasis on relationship as the principal thing really resonates. It makes me think of how much context matters in how we experience the world. Colour, dimension, and position wouldn’t be the same without their opposites or counterparts. How much of our own perception of life is shaped by relationships, whether they’re personal, social, or even cultural? Could we understand ourselves fully without others in our lives?
ADLe Thi Anh Duong
This idea of relationships defining everything is really powerful. It makes me think of how, in art, and in life, nothing truly exists in isolation. Colour only has meaning when it’s next to another colour, and a shape only defines itself through the space around it. In a way, are we all just defined by our relationships? Is our identity shaped by those we interact with, rather than who we are on our own?