Why New York? With Felix Burrichter
© Maria Fonti
Why New York?
I was living in Paris at the time and, to be honest, I felt a little trapped. I was drawn to New York because as a city, it has an unparalleled openness. It’s the frenetic energy, and the general openness to new ideas. A friend recently said that New York is at once both free and totally claustrophobic, and I completely agree.
What were you looking forward to? Looking back 19 years, was it as you expected? If not, what was different?
When I came to New York I had no idea what I was going to do. I had studied architecture [in Paris] but I wasn’t necessarily fascinated by the idea of working as an architect. I was looking for new adventures and to be inspired by new things. I was hoping to be challenged and grow and discover. Having lived here for almost 20 years, I can say that all of those things have realized. And the beauty of my work with PIN–UP is that I am able to be inspired by new things, new people, new ideas all the time. It condenses everything I love doing, and everything I love doing in New York. And I truly believe that I couldn’t have started PIN–UP anywhere else in the world. I wouldn’t have been given the chance to do it and get people interested and this casual but very intentional hybrid of architecture, art, and design.
What makes you happy; what makes you afraid?
Family and friends make me happy. So does the sun, or when something succeeds that I worked very hard on. The thing I fear most is poverty, death, and living without love.
What haven’t I asked about you? What question should I ask you?
Do you think you’ll ever leave New York? I ask myself that all the time. I don’t know if I can. The city has a firm grip on me. There are also sides to New York that aren’t good for you: the obsession with money, the frenetic pace, the short memory, and the obsession with the new. When any of those things get to me, I escape for a week, or even a month. Or I think about moving someplace else. But I always come back. It’s a push and pull relationship, like a lover you can’t leave even if they may not always be good for you.
