Piper French

The closer I looked, and the more I learned about his approach to work, the more I was able to understand both the routine he keeps, and the messes he makes. There are intense moments of accumulation and clutter and filth, yes, but surrounded by space—space for work, for reflection, and for painting.

a question came up, as they are prone to do. Neither of us knew the answer, and as naturally as breathing, she pulled out her phone and found out in less than 30 seconds. Our conversation resumed as usual, and that portion of it was resolved and wrapped up with a bow.

How I overcame a fear of making mistakes.

I spent a period of time where my goal was to plow through work in the cheapest and most disposable way possible. My choice was cardboard—sheets of corrugated cardboard from the streets of Manhattan.

I’d haul it up to my studio in big bundles every day, and put it all over the walls, the floor—even on the... See more

And he doesn’t make ‘art’, by the way—he makes things . Because art is a lie, he says.

But art will also save the world. He says that too.

I always think of ‘inspiration’ as an amateur word. Inspiration is being propelled to do something, or to think something, or to go somewhere, by some sort of external stimulus. And that to me is undependable.

But purpose—purpose is a white-hot fire inside of you, a self-delusion that keeps you coming back into the room to work decade after decade,... See more