Artist Residency: Richard Phillips

In his regular feature, "Artist Residency," Aubrey Mayer takes a photo of one of his favorite artists and asks him/her a series of simple questions. Here is painter Richard Phillips.

Aubrey Mayer: Where are you from?
Richard Phillips: Marblehead, MA

AM: Where do you live?
RP: Downtown Manhattan

AM: How did you become an artist?
RP: My grandfather encouraged me to draw.

AM: What is the oddest job you've ever had?
RP: I was a ghost carpenter for a contractor to the stars.

AM: Who's your favorite non-living artist?
RP: Adolf Dietrich

AM: What book are you reading at the moment?
RP: Dave Eggers’ What Is the What

AM: When are you happiest with your work?
RP: When painting ceases to announce itself as form and becomes capable of enduring its own negation.

AM: What is your favorite travel destination?
RP: I loved visiting Venice last summer.

AM: What do you find most sexy?
RP: Private things about my fiancée Josephine Meckseper.

AM: What is your favorite piece of art that you own?
RP: A small painting of a horse that a friend made.

AM: What is your favorite walk?
RP: Along a secret beach spot in the winter

AM: When and where is your next show?
RP: Next winter at Gagosian Gallery on 980 Madison Ave. in New York.

Past artists:
Tony Just
Ari Marcopoulos
Ricci Albenda
Olaf Breuning
Agathe Snow
Brian DeGraw and Lizzi Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance
Rita Ackerman