Richard Prince: Folksongs

Prince''s latest monograph-artist''s book, replete with signature works, both old and new, across collage, painting and sculpture

This volume is an artist''s book and monograph assembled by American conceptual artist Richard Prince (born 1949), best known for his subversive appropriation art that draws on imagery from pop and consumer culture. Folksongs showcases his new body of paintings alongside studio photos and documentation of various sculptures as well as installations of his Upstate series, comprised of original photography taken in upstate New York. Integrating collage, impasto and oil stick, the recent paintings contain a zigzag retrospective of Prince''s earlier work, intercut with appropriated photographic images. Repeating motifs include close-up shots of eyeballs, sutured skin and mouths with a cigarette dangling between the teeth, which he has scrawled over and around with swaths of oily pigment and thick, impasto brushstrokes, creating a collage of found imagery and original mark-making. The book also highlights recent sculptures comprised of shredded denim and card tires. Published by Fulton Ryder, Prince''s private imprint, Folksongs continues a series of artist''s books on both retrospective and new artworks.