Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium
Phillips is honored to support LACMA's landmark exhibition Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium. This sponsorship forms one part of our global program of arts partnerships in 2016, affirming our commitment to supporting and engaging with the world's preeminent museums and public galleries.
Robert Mapplethorpe's practice as an artist was characterized by inherent dualities. He sought what he called "perfection in form" in everything from acts of sexual fetishism to the elegant contours of flower petals. This exhibition explores Mapplethorpe's body of work through early drawings, collages, sculptures, and Polaroid photography; materials from his archive; portraits, still lifes, and figure studies; rare color photographs; and two seldom-seen moving image works. A companion exhibition will be presented simultaneously at the J. Paul Getty Museum, exploring Mapplethorpe's disciplined studio practice and his fascination with classical form and the fine photographic print
The exhibition at LACMA highlights the artist's relationship to New York's sexual and artistic undergrounds, as well as his experimentation with a variety of media. Additionally, the exhibition will be accompanied by Physical: Sex and the Body in the 1980s, a focused installation of work by other artists drawn from LACMA's permanent collection that helps place Mapplethorpe in conversation with the art of the 1980s.
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This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum.