robert mapplethorpe

robert mapplethorpe is remembered by many for his erotic images, the controlled balance between light and shadow,balance and symmetry


	robert mapplethorpe curated by david hockney january 14 - march 12, 2005 alison jacques gallery, london, uk http://www.alisonjacquesgallery.com/05_mapplethorpe.php alison jacques gallery in collaboration with charlie scheips, present an exhibition of work by robert mapplethorpe, which is remembered by many for his erotic image (including male and female nudes with sometimes sadomasochistic themes), the controlled balance between light and shadow, balance and symmetry, beauty and obscenity. he is considered one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century and this is a unique opportunity to discover his work through the eyes of another artist. the pair first met in1970 when hockney and his assistant mo mcdermott visited mapplethorpe who was living with the rock musician patti smith at the chelsea hotel, new york. hockney went on to be photographed by mapplethorpe on several occasions including the well known 1976 portrait on new york’s fire island with henry geldzahler, the renowned curator and cultural commissioner of new york in the 70s. hockney takes the viewer on a personal selection of portraits, still lives, flowers and nudes in what is a fresh and previously unseen overview of the photographer’s work to date. he show comprises of around sixty of mapplethorpe’s photographs taken in the years 1975 – 1988. the exhibition features portraits of leading creative figures in contact with both mapplethorpe and hockney. portraits including artists keith haring, andy warhol, roy lichtenstein, ed ruscha, and louise bourgeois are shown alongside the gay porn star peter berlin, writers william burroughs and bruce chatwin, and the poet and rock icon patti smith. hockney has also selected portraits of famous acquaintances including richard gere, lord snowdon, yoko ono... the current show follows on from ‘mapplethorpe selected by cindy sherman’ at sean kelly gallery, new york (2003) and ‘robert mapplethorpe curated by cathy opie’ at mark selwyn fine art, los angeles (2004). --- robert mapplethorpe was born in 1946 in queens, new york, as the third of six children. he received a B.F.A. from pratt institute in brooklyn, where he produced artwork in a variety of media. mapplethorpe took his first photographs, using a polaroid camera. he did not consider himself a photographer, but wished to use his own photographic images in his paintings, rather than pictures from magazines. ‘I never liked photography’, he is quoted as saying, ‘not for the sake of photography. I like the object. I like the photographs when you hold them in your hand.’ the shift to photography as mapplethorpe’s sole means of expression happened gradually during the mid-seventies. he acquired a large format press camera and began taking photographs of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. these included artists, composers, socialites, pornographic film stars and members of the S & M underground. during the early 1980s, mapplethorpe’s photographs began a shift toward a phase of refinement of subject and an emphasis on ‘classica’l formal beauty. during this period he concentrated on statuesque male and female nudes, delicate flower still lifes, and formal portraits of artists and celebrities. mapplethorpe produced a consistent body of work that strove for balance and perfection and established him in the top rank of twentieth-century artists. in 1986 he has diagnosed HIV-positive. in 1987 he established the robert mapplethorpe foundation to promote photography, support museums that exhibit photographic art, and to fund medical research and finance projects in the fight against AIDS and HIV-related infection. http://www.mapplethorpe.org since his death from AIDS in 1989, museums throughout the world have made his work the subject of numerous exhibitions.	keith haring, 1984 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe roy lichtenstein, 1985 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe richard gere, 1982 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe william burroughs, 1979 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe arnold schwarzenegger, 1976 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe ‘cock and knee’, c.1978 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe david hockney, 1976 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe self portrait, 1983 © the estate of robert mapplethorpe



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