Regarding the building of mathematical models, but could equally apply to art practice (especially a conceptually-driven one):
Some of the purposes for which models are constructed are (1) to obtain answers about what will happen in the physical world (2) to influence further experimentation or observation (3) to foster conceptual progress and understanding (4) to assist the axiomatization of the physical situation (5) to foster mathematics and the art of making mathematical models.
From “The Mathematical Experience” by Philip J. Davis and Reuben Hersh, pg. 78.