Ricardo Preve was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied in Argentina, Italy, and the United States.

He graduated with a BS Agronomy Degree in 1981, and a MS Forestry Degree in 1983, both from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. After 20 years as a manager of agricultural and forestry companies, he began his career in the visual arts in 2001.

He has an extensive filmography as Writer, Producer and Director of fiction and documentary works for cinema and television. His films have been shown on such networks as National Geographic Channel, Al Jazeera English, Public Broadcasting Service, RAI (Italy), and many others. His films have also been released in theaters and on DVD worldwide.

His photographs have been shown in several countries and venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art (Salta, Argentina), the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Villa Ocampo and Alta Gracia (Buenos Aires and Cordoba, Argentina), the UNESCO General Meeting in Brasilia (Brazil), and at exhibits in Montevideo, Punta del Este, Jose Ignacio, and San Jose (Uruguay). His works are in private collections in South America and Europe.

He lives in Argentina, the United States, and Uruguay.