I never work with music. I hate background music, always did. I only like music in the foreground, meaning, deliberately listen to it, actually.

You can't believe any picture nowadays, if it's digital. You can't really believe. If you see me shaking hands with Mr. [Barack] Obama, it doesn't mean I ever met him, does it?

The moment you cheat for the sake of beauty, you know you're an artist.

It takes a long time to make it simple.

I did come from a pretty independent-minded family.

I have always believed that art should be a deep pleasure...ther e is always, everywhere, an enormous amount of suffering. But I believe my duty as an artist is to overcome and alleviate the sterility of despair...New ways of seeing mean new ways of feeling... I do believe that painting can change the world.

It's no good saying I wished I could go out more, because I can't. But I don't bother about it too much.