Richard Prince: New Portraits, Gagosian

The King of Instagram, Richard Prince is back in London with a new show of his controversial screenshots at Gagosian Gallery, Davies Street. Prince has set the press on fire recently with his outrageous appropriations, changing original images he finds online slightly and then selling them for an enormous price. Only a few months ago there was an fierce backlash to the Frieze New York art fair display which was taken from the Instagram pages of the punk rock models and performers called SuicideGirls. But with influential art dealer Larry Gagosian hosting his show in London, it seems that Richard Prince has been declared an artist.
Richard Prince & Instagram
It all began in the 1980s when Prince would re-photograph existing portraits of his friends, but soon developed into Tumblr and Instagram thanks to Prince's young, tech-savvy daughter. If you look closely you'll also find that it's Richard Prince's comments that soar to the top of the list on Instagram. All sorts of celebrities and unknowns have fallen victim to Prince's practice, but the mischievous artist has always argued that his work is the same as Andy Warhol pinching the image of Marilyn Monroe or a can of Campbell's soup. 
Richard Prince's work has always garnered extreme reactions, and we expect nothing less from this new exhibition in London at Gagosian. Pay a visit and decide for yourself if this is contemporary art at its best or just plain old stealing. 
Opening reception: Thursday, June 11th, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm