Once hailed the “Master of Gothic Angst” by American art critic Edward Leffingwell, New York native Rick Prol was an active figure in the punk rock scene of the East Village in the 1980s. Although his works embody the dangerous and dark reality of the streets, beneath their gritty charm, there also exists a deep layer of pensive composition. Now fully digitized and animated for the first time ever, we are proud to announce that Rick Prol’s “Surveillance Cat-O-Puss” has been made exclusive for OrangeHare. From Shakespeare to Goya, this piece is consistent with his style, which draws inspiration from a variety of interests that seem to take root in that era’s fertile punk soil, ultimately growing into something that is both simultaneously unsettling, humorous, and truly one of a kind. As one of Jean-Michel Basquiats oldest friends and last studio assistant, Prol and Basquiat exchanged ideas with each other until Basquiafs untimely death in 1988.
