R-Prost – Less is enough.
Self-taught or art school?
Self-taught.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
Van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles (the version in the Art Institute of Chicago).
How would you describe your style?
Literary bricolage: things come in from the periphery and land on my work table.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
I’m not sure I would call the way I work a process. A starting point presents itself and the work begins. There are the inevitable tangents which arise and they are usually the most interesting to follow.
Is narrative important within your work?
Narrative, per se, is not important to me. I tend to work in series, so sequence is somewhat more relevant.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
Richard Tuttle — because he can make significant work from virtually nothing.
Antoni Tapies — because of the sheer physicality of his work.
Cy Twombly — because of his idiosyncrasy. I particularly like his sculpture.
What or who inspires your art?
I return often to the old Japanese haiku poets and their insistence on simplicity.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
I live and work in the same space. My studio area consists of a large work table suitable for most of what I do. There is also a carpentry workbench for woodwork. In addition, I have a computer area and storage space.
Do you have any studio rituals?
I don’t really have any studio rituals.
What are you working on currently?
Over the last few months, I have been making concrete poems. These are configurations of letters into abstract literature. Also, I have been writing computer programs to generate text pieces of various shapes.
Where can we buy your art?
A collection of the concrete poems will be published by the end of the year from Red Fox Press in Ireland. It is entitled “Etudes.” Selected objects and altered books are available from N’Namdi Contemporary Fine Art in Miami, FL.
