Robert Mapplethorpe

The Perfect Medium

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. Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Medium 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.

Also on view, the exhibition Physical: Sex and the Body in the 1980s presents 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. Read more.

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