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 In an era where religion has taken a backseat, particularly in Western culture, we can identify other fields such as art that provide gratifications in its place. The term ‘religious’ or a divine lexical field is continuously repeated when deliberating upon the profound reactions some have experienced when confronted by the works of artists including Marina Abramović and Agnes Martin, whose work I will explore in this essay. The comparison of art and religion is not specific to contemporary art, however an increase in spiritual conceptual thinking has highlighted the comparisons between art and religion more than in previous eras. This has facilitated a current discourse surrounding the critique of Western secularity and experiences with art. This essay will look specifically at The Artist Is Present and artworks by Agnes Martin produced after 1970. I will also draw on theories including affect and phenomenology, in addition to contexts relating to each artist, such as communism and Buddhism. My intention is to elaborate on the cyclical pattern of connectivity that can be seen between Abramović, Martin, their work, and audiences.