Richard Prince: Continuation at Serpentine Gallery

The Serpentine Gallery in London presents 'Richard Prince: Continuation,' an exhibition that is neither a retrospective nor a showcase of entirely new directions, but rather an interim report on the artist's ongoing projects. The show includes early works from the 1980s, such as re-photographs of a Marlboro cowboy and a biker pin-up 'Gang,' alongside recent pieces featuring familiar themes: joke paintings, automobile hood reliefs, and nurse portraits. The juxtaposition of old and new works highlights Prince's challenge of reconciling the aggressive muteness of his early photography with a more traditional pictorial lyricism. His wall-mounted car hoods betray a fascination with New York painting from the 1950s to 1970s, using materials like body filler to evoke atmospheres reminiscent of Mark Rothko, Jules Olitski, and Ron Gorchov. Some joke paintings display a pictorial subtlety that counters the text's crude irony. Prince's unresolved equation—connecting American popular culture (from porn magazines to pulp novels) with the most ethereal artistic aspirations—makes him one of the most interesting artists of his era, yet may explain why he has produced fewer masterpieces than expected. The exhibition runs from June 26 to September 7, 2008.