Artist and Louis Vuitton collaborator Richard Prince’s first major solo show at a UK public institution opens in London at the Serpentine Gallery. Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs threw a posh pre-opening party for the artist. LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault cited the Vuitton bags Prince designed as one of the company’s prime profit makers. Running through Sept. 7, the exhibition, called Continuation, picks up where Prince’s major Guggenheim retrospective of last year left off. The Serpentine show however will “mirror the installation of Prince’s work in his own buildings,” especially his compound in upstate New York, complete with studio furniture. Also on display will be his sculptures in the form of muscle car hoods, flip-flops and concrete highway barriers.
Prince is, himself, a voracious collector of art, furniture, memorabilia and books, which he houses in a group of buildings alongside his own artworks. His exhibition at the Serpentine is a direct dialogue with his spaces, mirroring the installation of Prince’s work in his own buildings as well as responding to the Serpentine’s unique scale and location. Prince’s diverse collection ranges from books and artworks by artists and writers to classic American ‘muscle cars’. Paintings, photographs and sculptures spanning Prince’s 30-year career are featured at the Serpentine, including new work created especially for this exhibition.
Last month, a painting from Prince’s Nurse series (similar to the one pictured above) sold at Christie’s for $7 million.
