Jonathan Prince is an American artist renowned for his large-scale sculptures in steel, stone and wood. Prince splits his time between his design studio in Brussels, Belgium and his 20,000 sq ft (2000 sqm) studio deep in The Berkshires of Massachusetts where he produces works that reflect his wide-ranging interests in science, technology and spirituality, brought together through a practice embedded in a lifetime of making. Often monumental, his pieces represent a continuous searching exploration of material, form and scale. They are characterised by sharp contrasts between materials - oxidised cortensteel, for instance, with mirror polished stainless steel - and between geometries, as perfect cubes are randomly piled or squeezed or split into jaggedness. Prince suggests that the tension between absolute precision and imperfection reflects the dualities inherent in life.
Prince was born in New York City. He trained at Columbia University in dentistry where he earned a doctorate in maxillofacial surgery. But, just as important for his development was his early encounter with the Lithuanian-born French- American artist Jacques Lipchitz, a friend of his father. From the age of twelve he apprenticed in the cubist sculptor’s workshop at weekends. This experience of working with his hands to transform matter into meaning stayed with him.
For many years, however, Prince’s creativity led him into different worlds. First there was Hollywood, as a film producer, and then animation, before a stint running a technology company in New York. It was only in 2002 that Prince returned to his first love: sculpture. Since 2004, he has created a world-class fabrication facility at his Berkshire home and studio, building a team dedicated to hand-fabricating every work, embedding craftsmanship at the heart of his art-making.
Prince’s work has been exhibited at multiple public spaces across New York City including at Christie’s, 590 Madison Sculpture Garden and Pier 64 Hudson River Park. His work has also been acquired for private collections such as the Eli and Edith Broad Museum at MSU, Joseph M. Cohen Family Collection and The Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.