What kind of sculptures do you make?
I weld. For some reason, I always felt extremely compelled to learn how. So after high school, I took some classes at the Art Students League and then continued doing it in college. Being able to manipulate metal, something that is really hard to work with, being able to make it your bitch—that’s a really amazing feeling.
Did you grow up in New York?
Yeah, in the East Village. My dad still lives in the apartment I grew up in on Avenue B.
Thoughts on the neighborhood these days?
It’s a sticky situation, obviously, because New York is always changing, so I don’t really have a right to be pissed. But it sucks on the weekends. I can’t even handle going outside; it’s filled with horrifying yuppie zombies.
Did you spend your teen years hanging out at the Astor Place Cube?
No, not really. It’s like, “It spins, I get it.”
Interview by Alexis Swerdloff