I think a lot of people take a scholarly approach where they feel like you're supposed to study things that depress you.

- John Currin

A lot of times maturing as an artist is just starting to do the things you like to do.

- John Currin

In a capitalist system, things are valued by what people will pay for them.

- John Currin

I find I can't get rid of my trashiness as an artist. A lot of my themes in painting, to the extent that there are intentional themes, are meant to b…

- John Currin

When I went to college, and I went to art school, I started to realize that Warhol was cool and that pop art was fun.

- John Currin

I think a big problem with art school is that it makes people feel like they have to be interested in everything that's of high quality.

- John Currin

There is no misery in art. All art is about saying yes, and all art is about its own making.

- John Currin

I'd like to get the sex thing over with, but I realized I'm not done with it. You should never will a change in your work - you have to work an idea …

- John Currin

You have to like everything that you're painting. Maybe on a narrative level it seems harsh... but I like everything in all my paintings. It's as if …

- John Currin