Rene Ricard

Painter, actor, poet, critic, and socialite-at-large Rene Ricard made art with a wit that allowed him to blur boundaries between disciplines, resulting in an expansive and symbiotic practice. This is evident in the way Ricard incorporates text into his paintings and prints, rendering poignant poetic confessionals and acerbic barbs in lush, gestural brushstrokes. Ricard was a fixture of Andy Warhol’s Factory and appeared in a number of Warhol films. He was equally lauded for his books of poetry and his career as a critic; in the latter capacity he helped launch the careers of Julian Schnabel, Alex Katz, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, among others. Ricard has exhibited in such cities as New York, London, and Los Angeles, and his work is in the permanent collections of the British Museum as well as numerous private collections including those of Brice and Helen Marden, Francesco Clemente, and Andy Spade.