You are known for your space filling installations but also your paintings / drawings. Have you ever thought committing yourself to one of the two? What are the advantages of either one of the two?

MDV - I really started with the installations in 1996, and pretty much devoted my time to them exclusively for about four years. At that point I felt a little burnt out from it and decided to return to painting and drawing, limiting the installations to one per year or so. It was hard, at first, to confront a blank rectangle instead of architecture, but eventually I stumbled upon the toile-de-jouy-style paintings and I've been following that path ever since.

There are lots of things I like about each mode of working. It's fun and exciting to plan a big installation, travel to an unfamiliar place, and meet interesting people while working under a deadline to create a spectacle; something absurd and monumental. There's a lot of adrenaline that goes along with that, which can be addictive. On the other hand, holing up and working in the studio can be very comforting and pleasant; just whiling away the hours with a brush and india ink, listening to Howard Stern. I try to keep a balance of the two, which is important to me and my family.

You know www.highsnobiety.com is a streetwear / lifestyle oriented website so I have to ask you about the Original Fake / KAWS collaboration which was all over the blogs recently. What is your relationship with KAWS and how did the T-shirts come about?

MDV - KAWS is a great friend and neighbor. Our mutual friend Jamie O'Shea of Supertouch introduced us a few years ago. KAWS and I had been neighbors for years- our studios are literally a block-and-a-half away from each other- but we'd never met. Now we get together regularly for lunch every few weeks, which I really enjoy. We go to the local neighborhood places like Diner, Peter Luger, or Relish with his assistant, artist Matt Hollister, and other folks like artist Eric Elms or the aforementioned Jamie when he's in town. KAWS is generous to a fault- always giving his latest creations to my son, who cherishes them.

He approached me a year or two ago about interpreting his "Companion" for a T-Shirt, which was a fun project to work on- it was a great way to open up and play with something that I wouldn't have normally done. That was for the first anniversary of Original Fake and it was- as is everything KAWS produces- very popular. The most recent shirts were similar interpretations of his "Chum" and the Original Fake logo. I think these were even more successful on every level. I'm psyched to collaborate with KAWS; he has very high standards. I'm glad to count him as a fan and a friend and appreciate the opportunities I've had to work with him.

A lot of artists worked with NIKE at one point of their career, so did you. How was that?

MDV - It was great! Everyone at Nike was a pleasure to work with and they didn't try to art-direct me at all. They provided me with everything I needed to get the job done, and really made the whole experience enjoyable.