Sterling Ruby is an American artist who works in a large variety of media including ceramics, painting, drawing, collage, sculpture and video. The artist has cited a diverse range of sources and influences including aberrant psychologies (particularly schizophrenia and paranoia), urban gangs and graffiti, hip-hop culture, craft, punk, masculinity, violence, public art, prisons, globalization, American domination and decline, waste and consumption. In opposition to the minimalist artistic tradition and influenced by the ubiquity of urban graffiti, the artist’s works often appear scratched, defaced, camouflaged, dirty, or splattered. Here he is in conversation with Paul Schimmel at The Royal Institution of Great Britain held on the ocassion of his debut exhibtion at Hauser & Wirth London.