Richard Prince
Biography
Richard Prince (b. 1949, Panama Canal Zone) is a pioneering American artist whose work challenges notions of authorship, ownership, and cultural identity. Since the late 1970s, Prince has mined mass media, advertising, and entertainment to create art that reinterprets and recontextualises familiar imagery. His practice, deeply rooted in appropriation, interrogates the transactions of representation and the constructed nature of American identity.
An astute observer of American subcultures, Prince explores themes of racism, sexism, and consumerism, often drawing from humour, pulp fiction, and soft porn. His Nurse series, alongside his iconic cowboy and biker series, reflect the allure and contradictions of contemporary American mythology.
Prince’s work has been exhibited internationally in major solo exhibitions, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Walker Art Centre, and the Serpentine Gallery. His works are held in prestigious public collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.