Robert Mapplethorpe: Behold the lowly Vessel
Galerie Thomas Schulte – Jun 29 to Aug 24, 2024 Berlin (Germany)
Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographs of flowers are well known, and recognizable for their delicate yet erotic beauty. What is less discussed is the role of the specific set of objects often appearing within their carefully constructed compositions. Frequently drawn from the artist’s collection, the vases and bowls found in these still lifes reveal a deep appreciation for design – reflecting the confident eye and regard for classical form exemplified by his photographic work. It is the connection between the two, that forms the starting point of Behold the Lowly Vessel. Presented at Galerie Thomas Schulte, the exhibition takes a distinctive point of view, bringing thoughtful arrangements of Mapplethorpe’s photographs together with a private collection of vases inspired by them.
Discrete collections.
Here, the photographs are likewise presented in discrete collections – formed out of repetitions, symmetries and affinities, as well as playing at times with dichotomies in an echo of Mapplethorpe’s own approach. Sculptural, sensuous images of both flora and the human body give the impression of rising, radiating, blossoming. Amid monochrome backgrounds and simple geometries, strong lines, curved or outstretched, are accentuated by the chiseled bodies of dancers and nudes. These are full of vitality or otherwise laden with potential, offering provocative, unobstructed views or truncated and tightly framed to pique our curiosity. The deliberate capture of light and shadow is highly measured at times and Caravaggesque at others, instilled with a sense of drama and expressivity in the features that emerge out of darkness.
Galerie Thomas Schulte→ Charlottenstrasse 24 Mitte – Berlin, Germany 10117
◊