586 - Richard Prince (1949, Panama Canal Zone)

Richard Prince (1949, Panama Canal Zone) Heaven Portfolio containing 5 C-prints on photographic paper and a colophon. In an original linen-bound slipcase with a rolled-on photographic cover vignette. Published by Galerie Sabine Knust, Munich, 2006. Each approx. 51 x 61 cm (frame approx. 61 x 78 cm, slipcase approx. 57 x 68 cm). One of 10 numbered copies. Each photograph signed and numbered on the reverse. • A significant work by a leading figure in American Appropriation Art • Celestial cloudscapes meet provocative humor, debunking the myths of American pop culture • Extremely rare, complete photo portfolio containing five signed C-prints from an edition of only ten copies Richard Prince is one of the most important figures in American Appropriation Art. Since the late 1970s, he has engaged with the visual world of mass media, exploring its promises, desires, and social clichés. By removing existing photographs, advertising images, or cartoons from their original contexts and recombining them, he challenges our notions of originality, reality, and cultural identity. In the five-part photo series “Heaven” from 2006, Prince combines atmospheric images of clouds with jokes superimposed in black text over the photographs. The sky, for centuries a symbol of the divine and the sublime, becomes a canvas for unmistakably American humor. The sometimes crude punchlines stand in surprising contrast to the romantic beauty of the cloud formations. From this juxtaposition emerges a multifaceted interplay between expectation and disappointment, between religious promise and mundane everyday reality. With “Heaven,” Prince brings together two central themes of his work: the appropriation of familiar visual worlds and his fascination with American humor, which he has been using as an independent means of artistic expression since the 1980s. His aim is not merely to elicit a comic effect. Rather, he reveals just how much our perception of images and language is shaped by cultural notions. This idea finds a contemporary continuation in the exhibition “Helter Skelter: Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince” (2026) at the Fondazione Prada in Venice. The dialogue between the two artists reveals different perspectives on American society: While Jafa explores African American history and cultural identity, Prince engages with the myths and contradictions of white American popular culture. Their works demonstrate how differently the same society can be perceived and represented—depending on cultural background and social experience. The “Heaven” portfolio, published in 2006 by the Sabine Knust Gallery in Munich and limited to only ten copies, brings together five individually signed and numbered photographs. Exhibitions: PaintingPhotography, Center for Contemporary Art at the Glaspalast, Augsburg 2023/24, no catalog; So Close to Heaven, Clouds in Art, Kunsthalle Emden 2025, no catalog. Provenance: Galerie Sabine Knust, Munich; Private collection, Southern Germany. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).