Beschreibung:

Richard Prince Eden Rock 2006 acrylic on canvas 19 x 25 3/4 in. (48.3 x 65.4 cm) Signed and dated “Richard Prince 2006" on the reverse.
Provenance Gagosian Gallery, New York Exhibited St. Barths, Eden Rock Hotel Gallery, Richard Prince December 27, 2007- February 28, 2008 Catalogue Essay Debuting at the Eden Rock Hotel Gallery in the Caribbean island of St. Barths, the present lot, Eden Rock, 2006, is part of a larger body of work inspired by the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest. The series is essentially a story board for an original screen play by Richard Prince entitled Eden Rock, a combination of Nevil Shute’s post-apocalyptic novel On the Beach and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Inspired by the artist’s trips to St. Barths, the story is described as a survivalist tale based on events gone wrong due to unlucky and ill-fated circumstances. Prince is quoted as being intrigued by “the idea of privilege turned on its head” and “when it comes to the fight for survival, clean water becomes more important than money.” (F. Martin, “Picture the End of the World”, The Guardian, March 25, 2008). Eden Rock, 2006, depicts a pair of polished combat boots, robust legs, and finally a hand wrapped around a military grade fire arm. The lone figure stands amongst a desolate world, adorned by two abandoned vehicles left at the mercy of the elements. The sweet flower to the right of the subject alludes to the lush paradise that once was. A hovering eagle glides in the distance, accentuating the expansiveness of the space and the loneliness of the figure therein. The present lot offers a kind of retrospective of the artist’s most famed series: the hyper masculine subject matter alludes to his Cowboys series, while the rundown and dilapidated cars seem to be plucked from his popular Hoods series. What separates this series from his earlier work is the use of closecropping, a key feature of advertising work of the late 1970s and 1980s. The twenty-one paintings belonging to the Eden Rock series only display the legs or bodies of the subject. Unlike the Nurses, Cowboys, and Girlfriends, whose full figures and faces fill their respective compositions, the works of Eden Rock are void of the figure’s identity, making the work solely about the survival of the subject and not his personal character or journey. Eden Rock, 2006, captures the severity of the evolutionary theory that only the strong survive, a battle which forces every man to fight for himself against a now unrecognizable world of impending danger. Read More Artist Bio Richard Prince American • 1947 While some artists are known for a signature style, Richard Prince is most closely associated with his subject matter: for instance, Cowboys, his series of the Marlboro man magnified between 1980 and 1994; Nurses, sinister yet seductive, all copies from pulp novel covers; joke text paintings, simple block lettering of his own or appropriated jokes. Often labelled an artist of the Pictures Generation alongside Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo Prince has been said to be the contemporary artist who most understands the depth and influence of mass media over life in the 20th and 21st centuries. In whichever medium Prince chooses to work, he stays within the realm of appropriation. Of course Prince is not met without controversy, and he has been on the losing end of several lawsuits involving copyright infringement. His "Instagram" series — unedited reproductions of content posted by models, influencers and celebrities on their personal feeds — sold for upwards of $100,000 at primary market, making for a memorable moment at Frieze Week New York in 2015. View More Works