Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographic work is traditional yet subversive. Drawing heavily from both fashion and pornography, his work covers a wide range of subject matter. This exhibition, gleaned from work completed over the last three years, includes portraits, floral still lifes, nudes, and an unexpected image of an enormous aircraft carrier docked at Naples. Though it is perhaps his sex photographs that have gained him notoriety as something of an enfant terrible, he approaches all of his subject matter with a consistent, sensually attuned eye.
While Mapplethorpe’s work has always exploited the beauty of the black and white print, it is only in the last year that he has turned to the platinum printing process for his imagery. Because of the uniquely wide tonal range that can be achieved through the platinum process, this method is particularly well suited to the photographer’s keen sensitivity to tonal values. The photographs are exhibited in special laminate frames designed by the artist.
Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs are internationally recognized and widely published. His forthcoming book, “Robert Mapplethorpe: Portraits” will be published this summer by Twelvetrees Press.
