Richard Prince furniture, Paris

Richard Prince’s aptly titled Nurse Hat Chair, pictured above in the centre of the room, is a direct steal from the artist’s iconic Nurse paintings, which are themselves heavily based on the jackets of trashy pop fiction novels.

The limited-edition white chair is the centrepiece of a new exhibition of his furniture in the Patrick Seguin gallery in Paris. And just like his art, each piece is born from his passion for rare book collecting.

Click here to see more of Richard Prince's exhibition

Aside from the white chair though (which was made especially) all the other pieces on show were acquired by Prince to furnish his ever-expanding library. These then gradually came to be used as formal display pedestals for his books, in turn becoming sculptures themselves.

The exhibition is fascinating as much for the furniture itself as for the insight the collection lends into the cognitive workings of one of today’s most acclaimed cultural creatives.

30 October 2008 | Design