When I go to China I see many artists whose work reflects on aspects of contemporary popular culture but obviously the history of Western art is not part of their own tradition.

'Understanding' art is like having a sense of humour - if you don't have one, no amount of explanation is going to make you laugh.

I thought the objects we value least because they were ubiquitous were actually the most extraordinary.

I try to make images that have the immediate presence we take for granted in objects - a chair, a shoe, a book, a Judd - and compose them like sentences.

You can see in my paintings, I've taken away the context, I've taken away the shadows, I've taken away expression, I've taken away the personal, and yet so much remains!

The art world, of all worlds, has room for everyone.

I am trying to present objects in the simplest way possible, and I don't want to supply too much context.

Whatever happens to the art world, art will go on regardless. As for obscurity, it looms just over the horizon beckoning us all. Why worry.

I think the best approach is not to be too much like the thing that they are referring to, see it as a guide.

Art is more to do with observation than invention.

If things are too similar, the dialogue is not very interesting. If you put in contrast, big and small, abstract and representational, you set up the possibility of a discourse.

The only thing that separates the person you are from the person you want to be are the actions you take.

For a 6-foot-3 guy with no hair and a whiny voice, I've done all right.

One of the virtues of the NHS... it doesn't worry you about money at the moment when you're least capable of doing anything about it.

It's so hard to know what to do when one wishes earnestly to do right.

Sometimes there is no happy choice, Sam, only one less grievous than the others. - Jon Snow

The best things in life are free, but you can keep them for the birds and bees; I want money.

I got a kick out of the stands when they would heckle me. I would take the energy from that.

Leadership consists not in degrees of technique but in traits of character.

I've found out how overwhelming the media is and the way it drills things into your head, it's almost like a mind control. If I could control prople's minds, I'd like to put something useful in.

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president... is morally treasonable to the American public.